faces questions about the scottish government's handling of complaints against former first minister alex salmond. and coming up this hour... a congregation in herefordshire are shocked to discover an ordinary looking painting of the last supper is actually a long—lost masterpiece. the figures speak for themselves — and they paint a picture which suggests the battle against covid is on the turn. the number of weekly registered coronavirus deaths in england and wales has fallen by more than a quarter in a week to the lowest level since the start of the year. the figures from the office for national statistics suggest that the latest national lockdown — and the sucessful vaccination programme — are working. there's good news too on hospital admissions — down by 80% for those aged over 80 who've received a single dose of vaccine. the results have been described by the head of the oxford vaccine project as �*stunning'. the government says there's no cause for complacency — and sticking to restrictions remains vital. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. more than a third of adults in the uk have now had theirfirst coronavirus vaccine. widely hailed a success, the roll—out has received a further boost after real—world data suggests one dose of either the oxford or the pfizerjab cuts the risk of serious illness by 80% in the over 80s. this data comes from the hardest group to protect, those who are the most frail, the oldest adults in our population. and we are seeing an 80% reduction in hospitalisation in that group. which is stunning. there are now clear signs the epidemic is moving in the right direction and the vaccine roll—out is working. new data shows covid deaths are continuing to fall, with 4,410 registered in the uk in the week to the 19th of february — that is down byjust over a quarter on the previous week. the number of people who've developed immunity also appears to be rising. latest figures estimate one in four people have coronavirus antibodies in england. in wales and northern ireland it's thought to be one in six and scotland one in eight. but there are concerns that the vaccine is not working as well against some emerging variants, particularly one which was first detected here in manaus injanuary. six cases of the so—called brazil variant have been identified in the uk. while the hunt goes on to locate other potential cases, epidemiologists say they are more concerned about bringing the virus under control once and for all. the uk is leading the way in terms of molecular surveillance of the virus, but we are still only genotyping about 25% of cases. if we could really bring down the number of cases much lower, we could be genotyping every case and we could be much more confident about new variants arising and our vaccine strategy. the government is promising brighter days ahead, but for now, the advice is to remain vigilant. anna collinson, bbc news. health secretary matt hancock told mps that the search for one unidentified person in the uk linked to the brazil variant has been narrowed to south east england. he was speaking in the house of commons this lunchtime. we know five of these families have quarantine at home as they are legally required to do and i would like to place on record my gratitude for them for following the rules. whenever we find a new varied we respond hard by bringing in enhanced sequencing and testing, so we are stepping up our testing and sequencing in south gloucestershire as a precaution. we have no evidence that the variant has spread further but unfortunately one of the six people successfully completed a test but did not leave contact details. incidences like this are rare, and i can update the house on the latest information on identifying this case. we have identified the batch of home test kits in question and our search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the south—east of england and we are contacting each one. mary ramsay is the head of immunisation at public health england. not n ot ofte n not often we have good news but the figures seem to be pointing in the right direction.— right direction. absolutely. it is aood right direction. absolutely. it is good news. _ right direction. absolutely. it is good news, and _ right direction. absolutely. it is good news, and the _ right direction. absolutely. it is good news, and the vaccine - right direction. absolutely. it is good news, and the vaccine we | right direction. absolutely. it is - good news, and the vaccine we were all waiting for, it has shown it works and we know it is a safe and uptake is high and the nhs is doing a brilliantjob of delivering the programme and it is beginning to make a difference. in programme and it is beginning to make a difference.— programme and it is beginning to make a difference. in the words of one commentator, _ make a difference. in the words of one commentator, absolutely - one commentator, absolutely stunning, when we are talking about hospital admissions for those over 80, as well. hospital admissions for those over 80, as well-— 80, as well. that is right. is that commentator _ 80, as well. that is right. is that commentator said, _ 80, as well. that is right. is that commentator said, getting - 80, as well. that is right. is that commentator said, getting a - 80, as well. that is right. is that - commentator said, getting a vaccine to work in older people is always a challenge. we find that with other vaccines, they don't work as well in older people, but this vaccine, is having very high levels of protection against serious disease, even with a single dose, in people over 80, so that is really exceptional, and with the second dose as well, that will give them additional protection that will last longer, and we really do have a hope of preventing people from dying from this disease. over and over again, every time someone gets a vaccine. we are not out of the woods yet but if things continue on this trend, when would you say that we are looking at a virus that is under control? ~ ., looking at a virus that is under control? ~ . ., ., ._ looking at a virus that is under control? ~ . ., ., ., ., control? we have a long way to go et. we control? we have a long way to go yet- we have _ control? we have a long way to go yet. we have vaccinated _ control? we have a long way to go yet. we have vaccinated a - control? we have a long way to go yet. we have vaccinated a very - control? we have a long way to go l yet. we have vaccinated a very high proportion of the older population but most of the working age have not yet been touched by the vaccine. we really need to get high levels of protection in that group to prevent the disease spreading because even a very small number of people left unprotected either because they may have immunological problems which stops them responding to vaccine or they have chosen not to be vaccinated, and those people will be better protected when everybody else is protected, so i think we have a way to go yet. hopefully if we can get the bulk of the adult population covered, that will allow us to go back much closer to what a normal life was before the pandemic. the enem at life was before the pandemic. the enemy at the _ life was before the pandemic. the enemy at the heart of this and we need to be as careful as anybody else, it is complacency, that people start to feel that this is fine and we are out of the woods, but things need to stay as they are at the moment. , need to stay as they are at the moment-— need to stay as they are at the moment. , , ., , ., ~' moment. yes, people need to think about the next _ moment. yes, people need to think about the next stage _ moment. yes, people need to think about the next stage as _ moment. yes, people need to think about the next stage as we - moment. yes, people need to think about the next stage as we move i moment. yes, people need to think. about the next stage as we move into younger people, they may be less worried about the virus themselves but they need to think about this as a way to protect not only themselves but their friends and family. the big message, if you are called for a vaccine come and get vaccinated, and thatis vaccine come and get vaccinated, and that is the way as a community that we will get out of this problem. the french and germans are changing their minds about the effectiveness of the astrazeneca vaccine the over 65s and those older, and that is something we have known in this country for a while and the latest evidence absolutely backs that up. yes, regulators take a very precautionary approach and the data, they did not feel there was an of data, but i'm hoping the data we published yesterday will really convince them now that the astrazeneca vaccine works as well as the other one, even with a single dose,in the other one, even with a single dose, in the most vulnerable group and therefore they can use whichever vaccine they have to protect their own populations. fit, vaccine they have to protect their own populations.— vaccine they have to protect their own populations. a little language issue here- _ own populations. a little language issue here. the _ own populations. a little language issue here. the difference - own populations. a little language| issue here. the difference between effectiveness of a vaccine and the efficacy of a vaccine, they use are different things?— different things? traditionally the effica is different things? traditionally the efficacy is what — different things? traditionally the efficacy is what you _ different things? traditionally the efficacy is what you measure - different things? traditionally the efficacy is what you measure as l different things? traditionally the i efficacy is what you measure as part of a clinical trial, in controlled circumstances, with very strict inclusion criteria and very strict definitions. but what we have published is effectiveness data and thatis published is effectiveness data and that is how it is working in the population. anyone who gets vaccinated, regardless of whether they fitted the criteria for the trial, is included in that, so ours is real—world data and actually therefore much more important from a public health viewpoint. you need the efficacy to get the vaccine improved but what really matters after that is how it works in the population and that is the data we have been able to show this week, which has been so impressive in reducing cases and reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death. aha, of hospitalisation and death. a quick word about the missing patient, how worried are you that there is someone out there who has there is someone out there who has the brazil variant of this and we don't yet know who it is? we the brazil variant of this and we don't yet know who it is? we have an excellent surveillance _ don't yet know who it is? we have an excellent surveillance system - don't yet know who it is? we have an excellent surveillance system in - excellent surveillance system in this country and we will pick up any spread from this individual, and a single case, obviously we need to track it down, and i believe that is happening now, so i don't think we need to worry too much because we have such a good surveillance system in this country that we will be able to see if there are any problems. very good to talk to you. thanks for joining us. borisjohnson and rishi sunak say they want tomorrow's budget to "unleash growth". the prime minister's press secretary told reporters that the budget would be about business growth and supporting jobs. earlier, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng has all—but confirmed that the furlough scheme will be extended untiljune. it's also being reported that there'll be extra support for the badly—hit culture sector. £408 million will help museums, theatres and galleries in england to reopen once restrictions start to ease. there'll be a £150 million fund to help communities to take over local pubs. £300 million will go to sport, with what's being called a "significant chunk" being given to cricket. and an extra £77 million will be given to the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland to provide their culture groups with similar backing. our economics correspondent andy verity has this report. remember this? the atmosphere of a busy pub. but after a covid christmas and no punters for months on end, pubs are in deep financial trouble and unlikely to be back to normal business when the furlough scheme was scheduled to stop at the end of april. but today the business secretary confirmed it would be extended beyond that. a key budget announcement affecting 4.7 million people put out a day before the budget. can you tell us are you looking at extending furlough and when might that be until? i think the chancellor has already indicated that we will be extending furlough, i think that's been part of a public announcement. i think there will be other measures that we will see tomorrow. for now, what we have to do is to support businesses, individuals and families through what has been an extremely difficult time. the government has also announced a £150 million fund to help communities take over stricken pubs. there will also be £300 million to help sports venues recover, such as cricket clubs, and 408 million for museums, theatres and galleries. pub owners say to stay afloat this year, they will need more help on top of the furlough scheme. we're paying 100% rent. even though our rent has been deferred, when we go to open up, with restrictions, our rent is going to be higher because they are going to be clawing back the rent that's been deferred on top. it's a load of rent to find when your doors have been closed for a long period of time. so for this financial year rishi sunak has spent £271 billion more than the government income from taxes, nearly twice the deficit after the financial crisis. senior politicians across parties are calling for that to be dealt with by tax rises. with few calls so far for spending cuts. but timing is crucial. if the government raises taxes or withdraws support from businesses too soon it could stifle any economic recovery. the chancellor's critics say he must now help millions of small business owners and self—employed workers who struggled for a year without a penny from either the furlough scheme or self—employed income support, when they could be contributing to a recovery. i'm extremely worried that there are thousands of small businesses and self—employed people who are teetering on the brink and we could see an avalanche of redundancies if we don't have really ambitious action, so the liberal democrats are calling for a budget that is targeted on small businesses, on the high street, cafe owners, hairdressers, bricklayers, and those sorts of people, some of them who have had no help during the pandemic. at least one big question remains unanswered ahead of tomorrow — how big are rishi sunak�*s plans to stimulate the economy? in the united states, the biden administration is planning to spend unprecedented sums creating newjobs to get the economy going again. so far, the uk government's plans are on a far smaller scale. andy verity, bbc news. the scottish government has admitted its lawyers had reservations about its position in a civil court case brought by alex salmond. mr salmond successfully sued the government over its investigation into him which cost the taxpayer at least half a million pounds. he claims they should have dropped it months earlier. meanwhile, the top law officer in scotland has defended the crown office — after it expressed concerns about the publication of parts of mr salmond's evidence to msps. nick eardley reports. this is a politicalfallout on the grandest scale. nicola sturgeon�*s government is facing big questions. herformer mentor, alex salmond, says he's convinced she broke the rules ministers have to follow several times. i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code, but it's not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. this is alex salmond in 2019. he'd just taken the scottish government to court. judges found the policy used to investigate him had been unlawful, but mr salmond has claimed that ministers knew for weeks that they were likely to lose the case. waiting could have cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. for months, parliament has been trying to force the government to publish its legal advice. until now, it has refused. but faced with a vote of no confidence, scotland's deputy first minister has been forced to change his mind. mr swinney admitted reservations were raised by lawyers in october, that's two months before they admitted defeat. he goes onto argue that there were reasonable grounds to continue with the case. this was very clear. the government have acknowledged that. this crisis has seen criticism of the leadership of a number of institutions, from the government, to the civil service. last week, there are even claims of a cover—up after the crown office which is the prosecution body in scotland, said some of alex salmond's evidence had to be taken down from the parliamentary website because it could be in contempt of court. today the scottish government's top lawyer hit back. any suggestion from any quarter that the crown's decision making has at any time been influenced by irrelevant considerations or improper motivations would be wholly without foundation. it will be nicola sturgeon�*s turn to appear before the committee tomorrow. she's denied breaking the ministerial code and said claims of a conspiracy against alex salmond just aren't true. let's go to our political correspondent, nick eardley who's in edinburgh. it isa it is a complex case. yes, you could be forgiven for not knowing the details because it is a really complicated web of allegations against the scottish government and against the scottish government and against the scottish government and against the snp, against other institutions in scottish life. tomorrow we will hear from nicola sturgeon, she is giving her evidence to the committee tomorrow morning, and it will be one of her biggest tests as first minister, because the number of allegations she is facing is high and some of the allegations she is facing are extremely serious, so remember that when he was here on friday, alex salmond said he thinks they have been multiple breaches of they have been multiple breaches of the ministerial code by nicola sturgeon. tomorrow she will have to defend herself against that and she will face questions about mr salmond's claimed that the leadership of scotland's institutions has failed and she will also face questions about whether there was a conspiracy against mr salmond as he suggested over the last couple of weeks. nicola sturgeon has always said that she did not break the ministerial code and that there is no evidence for some of the more outlandish as she sees it, allegations, that have been made in the last few weeks, but it is a big moment for the first minister tomorrow because she has to try and bat some of this off with just nine weeks until the scottish parliament election. a scottish parliament election. a scottish parliament election. a scottish parliament election which could be crucial in working out whether there will be another independence referendum. if the snp win a majority they will say they have a cast—iron mandate for another vote on leaving the uk. this might seem like a row between the upper echelons of scottish society but it is one that has a ripple effect which will affect notjust people across scotland but people across the uk. the stakes could not be higher. the uk. the stakes could not be hither. w' ., the uk. the stakes could not be hither. w ., ., the uk. the stakes could not be hither. ., ., ., , the headlines on bbc news... deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a resuly lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england — according to matt hancock. tomorrow in the budget we'll hear that furlough will be extended, and a £400 million boost for the culture sector. after the french government changed its stance and announced it will now allow the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine to be given to people between 65 and 74, it now looks like germany may well follow suit. last month france's president macron said the vaccine was only "quasi—effective" on older people. but data accumulated since he made that comment suggests that it was inaccurate. it comes as the eu says it's going to explore the introduction of digital vaccine passports. jean mckenzie reports. they might be at the front of the vaccine queue, but at this care home in france there is not quite the rush that you might expect. translation: we have been offered the vaccine. - they have given appointments for elderly home staff, but honestly, for my part, i am not confident for now. i was waiting to get some more information and to see how it goes, since i thought it came about too fast. translation: | haven't. gotten the vaccine so far. i'm not particularly afraid of the vaccine. that's not it. it is really about me. my perception of my own health and my vision of my health in general. i think my body can perfectly defend itself. france's roll—out is going slowly. just 5% of people have had their first dose. early comments from the french president that the astrazeneca vaccine was quasi ineffective in older people didn't help the cause, but with the evidence quickly stacking up, the country and the president have backtracked. within days, people up to the age of 75 will start receiving the vaccine. translation: as of today, the french national- authority for health considers that all the vaccines available in france — astrazeneca, pfizer and moderna — are remarkably effective. across the eu the roll—out is still stubbornly slow and the looming summer is playing on people's minds. the eu is now working on plans to allow people who have been vaccinated to go on holiday, but it is unclear whether they will include uk travellers. to be on the safe side, greece and spain are already in talks with the british government about creating their own travel or vaccine corridors. countries are losing patience. some are even now buying up unauthorised vaccines from russia and china. if they are going to be ready for summer, it's time, they feel, to shop elsewhere. jean mckenzie, bbc news, brussels. we can cross now to the scottish parliament at holyrood where msps are being updated on the return of schools in scotland. the public health minister will support the resumption of competitive football in scottish leagues one and two and the scottish women's premier league and also certain highland league teams in certain highland league teams in certain scottish cup ties and i hope this news will be welcomed across the country. but my focus is on education in particular i will update parliament on plans to get all children back to school on a full—time basis as soon as possible. first i will give a brief summary of today's statistics. the total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 542 and that is 4.4% of tests carried out and the total number of cases is now 203,012. 784 people are now in hospital, 40 fewer than yesterday, 71 in intensive care which is the same as yesterday, i'm sorry to say, though, in the past 24 hours a further 33 deaths have been registered and the total number of deaths under the daily measurement is now 7164 and again i want to send my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. yesterday we marked the anniversary of the first case of covid being confirmed in scotland, the scottish government is currently talking to help charities and family organisations about how we intend to remember all those who have lost their lives and also mark the many sacrifices people have made and we intend to say more about this soon. i will also give an update on the vaccination programme, as of 830 this morning, 1,000,630 people have received a first dose of the vaccine, an increase of 22,783, since yesterday, and there is of course good and increasing evidence that the vaccination is reducing the number of deaths especially in care homes. in time is a growing proportion of the population gain protection through vaccination it should also start to have an impact on hospitalisations and on transmission rates. further positive news yesterday with the report from public health england that a first dose of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine reduces the chance of needing hospital treatment by more than 80% and of course that confirms research published last week in scotland by the university of edinburgh. we remain on course to offer the first dose to everyone over 50 and all unpaid carers and adults with an underlying health condition by mid april and we may face some supply issues next week, we understand, which could affect appointments but we are working hard to avoid that. i want to stress that theseissues to avoid that. i want to stress that these issues will not affect the mid april target. these issues will not affect the mid apriltarget. in these issues will not affect the mid april target. in addition to the progress on vaccination we are making good progress at suppressing the virus and i said last week that the virus and i said last week that the decline in case numbers had appeared to slow down and that this was a concern but i'm pleased to report this week that recent data has been much more encouraging and id strongly suggest that cases are still declining. —— are strongly. we have now fallen to 657 new cases per day on average and this is the lowest level since the first week of october last year. the average test positivity rate has also fallen and is now below 5%. hospital admissions are also falling and in the first half of january are also falling and in the first half ofjanuary more than a are also falling and in the first half of january more than a thousand covid patients per week were being admitted to hospital in the week until the 23rd of february, that had fallen to 468 and the number in intensive care has also continued to decline. the sacrifices everyone is making are undoubtedly having an impact collectively, we are suppressing the virus and lives are being saved as a result. there is more reason to be optimistic now than perhaps at any time since early autumn last year. that said, we have got to take care to avoid sending progress into reverse, 657 new cases per day might be the lowest level over five months but it is still 13 times higher than the numbers being recorded in mid—august. the reduction in hospital admissions is very encouraging that hundreds of people every week are still falling seriously ill and we know that the new variant which now accounts for more than 85% of new cases is highly infectious and of course we have been reminded over the weekend of the significant risks we now face of other new variants such as the brazilian variant being imported into the country, so the news on vaccines and suppression is overwhelmingly positive. but we must be sensible and this can be hard to do when things appear to be going on the right direction, but we must continue to be sensible in the decisions we take over the next few weeks if we want to make sure that weeks if we want to make sure that we keep going in the right direction. that provides context for the decisions that we have taken this week and cabinet confirmed this morning about our next steps in enabling children to return to school. those decisions follow consultation with local authorities and discussions with cosla and this advice will be published tomorrow. children in primary is 1—3 are already back at school full time and we continue to monitor the impact of that although it is too early to be certain. some secondary school students have also returned to take part in essential practical work for national qualifications and childcare and early education premises are also open for children below school age, and the next phase of reopening education will take place on the 15th of march. i can confirm today that from that date unless new evidence force us to reconsider which we hope will not be the case, all children in primary 4-7 the case, all children in primary 4—7 will go back to school on a full—time basis. or primary school children will also be able to return to regulated child care —— all. this includes after—school and breakfast clubs. we have a phased return to secondary schools from the 15th of march with a clear expectation that all secondary school pupils will be backin all secondary school pupils will be back in school on a full—time basis following the easter holidays. but it is the intention that all secondary school pupils will return to spend some time in school from the 15th of march until the easter break. students in the senior phase of secondary school, years 4—6 who are taking national qualifications will have priority for face—to—face lessons in school, and this will make sure they can have their hard work barely recognised with qualifications under the alternative certification model, but although years for— six might have priority we expect all children in secondary school will receive some in—school education each week until the easter break and then return full—time after that. this will allow pupils to get used to being back in school and allow them to start seeing friends again and am sure everyone will agree that this is important for the well—being of young people as well as for education. before easter, this will be a blended learning model, and we will continue to make sure that remote learning is of the highest standard possible, and reports from her majesty's inspectorate of education have said the delivery of remote learning has improved a greatly between the first and second lockdowns i'm grateful to the teachers and others who have done so much to build on the experience of the first knockdown. we will work with education scotland to make sure enhanced online resources are available over the coming months and we will work with local authorities to support young people's well—being, for example by providing more opportunities for outdoor learning, and education scotland will publish guidance for local authorities on the phased return over the next few days and local authorities will have flexibility in how they implement the phased return to allow them to take account of local factors in deciding how to make the return as safe as possible. we want to make sure that they are able to maximise the number of time that secondary school pupils can safely spend in school pupils can safely spend in school in the period until the easter holidays. obviously, we recognise the safety of staff and children must continue to be a key priority, or local authorities will therefore until the easter break —— all. they will continue to observe the current requirement for to meet physical distancing in secondary schools and when secondary schools return face coverings would need to be worn at all times. the advisory group has also noted the continued importance of good ventilation and we provided local authorities with £375 million of education recovery funding to date and many councils are using some of this funding to monitor and improve ventilation in schools. we will offer twice weekly lateral flow testing for all school staff in primary and secondary and special schools and all secondary school pupils in years four, five and six and i would encourage as many as possible to use the test when they return, a further important way to make sure that schools remain as safe as possible. the final point i want to make on schools system which is a thank you to all school leadership teams and staff, including teachers, but everything that has been done to support children and young people in the last few months. i know everyone is looking for a thank you to all school leadership teams and staff, including teachers, but everything that has been done to support children and young people in the last few months. i know everyone is looking forward to having children back be, but i hope and i end of it is now firmly in sight. my thanks to children and young people. i know how hard it must be separated from friends and teachers, but you have all responded by nipping instantly —— magnificently, and i hope you will start to feel like become a lot more normal soon. the phased approach will be frustrating, i know that, but it is necessary and is firmly based on the expert advice we have received. it is the best and most sustainable and enduring way to get as many children back to school as safely as possible. there is one other issue i want to briefly highlight today. i can confirm that we are clarifying guidance on an issue directly relevant to parents of newborn children. there are currently a number of essential purposes, for example, essential care, which enable us to go into someone else's house right now. we are amending guidance on this to make it clear that those essential purposes include support for the welfare and well—being of a pedant of a child under the age of one, and i hope that gives clarity and enables vital support for parents of very young children. the presiding officer, as we come out of this lockdown, hopefully the last lockdown, hopefully the last lockdown, we are prioritising, as we said we would, the health and well—being of our children. in addition, although we remain cautious, as we have to be in the face of a dangerous and highly infectious virus, i hope that people will take heart from the data, which shows significant and sustained process in getting the virus under control. next week i hope to confirm the changes to deliver for restrictions that take effect from the 15th of march and the week after i am ready to set out a firmer timetable for up to the 26th of april. we will consider between now and then if the data allows us to bring forward any relaxation of the rules. i've always said if we can go further and faster, then we will not hesitate to do so. all of us want to move on as quickly as possible, and it is a priority to see friends and family again, that will very much be the focus of considerations over the next week, and i hope the day for thatis next week, and i hope the day for that is now not too far away. to make sure we don't see any reverse in progress would put that in jeopardy, it is really important that for now we all abide by the lockdown rules, so please continue to stick to the letter and the spirit, stay at home except for the spirit, stay at home except for the spirit, stay at home except for essential purposes, don't meet people from other households endorse, follow the facts and advice when from home if you can, and if you are an employer, continued to support your workers to do so. if we do all of this, we can we will make it easierfor children to do all of this, we can we will make it easier for children to return to school and for all of us to return to more normality soon. we will protect ourselves, our communities, the nhs and keep the virus under control while vaccinations do their work, so for the moment, please continue to stick with that, stick together and stay—at—home. continue to stick with that, stick together and stay-at-home. thank you ve much, together and stay-at-home. thank you very much. first _ together and stay-at-home. thank you very much, first minister. _ together and stay-at-home. thank you very much, first minister. we - together and stay-at-home. thank you very much, first minister. we move - very much, first minister. we move the questions. ruth davidson. may take this first— the questions. ruth davidson. 1— take this first parliamentary opportunity to welcome the new labour leader, the first time i've been able to do that in my time here, but i —— the fifth time, but i truly wish him well. presiding officer, the news this week that the oxford astrazeneca backs and can reduce hospital emissions by 80% after one dose is welcome indeed. the fact that fatalities are down significantly should be a huge reinsurance to us all. this week was also a week of milestones, with more than 20 million people across the uk, and 1.5 million across scotland, receiving theirfirst uk, and 1.5 million across scotland, receiving their first vaccination. vaccinations don'tjust help those receiving the jag, they help us all. with just over a quarter of adults in edinburgh now having been vaccinated, nearly half in dumfries and galloway, the trend is clear, the greater the roll—out, the greater reduction in the cases. i welcome the scottish conservative calls for an earlier return to school for many peoples had been listened to. while it welcome to young people's mental health and well—being, the social development and educational attainment, getting all peoples to return while still observing covid rules does pose some logistical questions. face coverings and social distancing are now consonance we take for granted and so many areas of our lives, but teachers and head teachers are rightly asking what support they will receive if their school estate doesn't allow for the two metre social distancing in cash and that the government requires of secondary school. if you can't fit all peoples into the usual clash with a two metre rule and have no extra classrooms are staff to man the split or composite class is created, what support solutions are going to be made available for them? well. be made available for them? well, all of the developments _ be made available for them? well, all of the developments that - be made available for them? well, all of the developments that i - all of the developments that i narrated earlier on i have been reiterated or were they welcome. i don't want to overstate this because i don't think it's a spirited people, trying not to give people false promises on this, but i do think we have every reason now to believe that the exit from lockdown might be quicker and come sooner than we believed would be the case just a few weeks ago. we know that the worst thing we could do, what would make that less likely, is if we move too quickly right now and jeopardise the situation that is now beginning to emerge in such a positive way. that is why we need to be careful, and that caution, as well as a determination to get children back to normal, lies behind the decisions i've outlined today on schools. we continue to work with schools. we continue to work with schools to make sure that while it is not possible to have all young people back to school as normal, there is a good provision of remote learning for the period between now and easter, then there will be a blended learning approach for secondary schools and we continue to work with schools and local authorities to make sure that as of the quality that young people and their parents expect. we have given local authorities a significant funding to help with practical arrangements in schools, i mention ventilation in my opening remarks but that will cover a range of other things. the key to this, as it was last august when we managed to support the full—time return of school for all peoples, and keep schools open birch for the remainder of last year, the key is to get the virus as low as possible so as much normality on skills becomes possible and some of the restrictions can be eased, which allows the normality to open up. the additional factor we have now that we didn't last august is what we hope will be the suppressive effect of the vaccine. these are things we monitor on an ongoing basis, take a bite to work with local authorities and schools to facilitate. i hope that by the time we are coming out of the easter break we have further progress that allows more normality and skill set has been possible to know. can i thank ruth _ has been possible to know. can i thank ruth davidson _ has been possible to know. can i thank ruth davidson for - has been possible to know. can i thank ruth davidson for her comments. thank ruth davidson for her comments-— thank ruth davidson for her comments. . . ~ , comments. can i thank the first ministerfor— comments. can i thank the first minister for advance _ comments. can i thank the first minister for advance out - comments. can i thank the first minister for advance out of - comments. can i thank the first minister for advance out of the l minister for advance out of the statement and extend my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones. as the first minister said, it is 12 months and is the first covid case was identified in scotland, and in this time we have seen our front line workers and nhs staff, social care staff and front line workers continue to go above and beyond, and our heartfelt thanks to every single one of them and their families. the vaccine roll—out is the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is great to see the evidence of its efficacy, giving us all hope, but as lockdown restrictions begin to let, i do urge the scottish government to also focus on our recovery, and i will support all efforts by the government to bring our communities together and to rebuild our nation. that must be our collective priority for everyone across this parliament. presiding officer, parents across the country our worlds about their child's education and mental health. when will details of a national recovery plan for scotland's pupils and education system be set out? figures show that more than 1.5 thousand children are on waiting lists and have already waited more than a year to be seen by a specialist, more than 1500. in the last quarter, one in four children had the referral rejected. what more can the scottish government due to give support to children who need it right now, critically in crisis services? finally, the scottish government has a target of 400,000 vaccinations a week, a target i have welcomed and i support, but the numbers from the last week in february show an average of around 29,000 vaccinations per day, and yesterday fewer than 23,000 people were vaccinated, and today the first minister has suggested that already there is a potential slowing vaccination rate going forward even further. when will we have that target may of 400,000 vaccinations a week, so we can collectively get out of this crisis? can week, so we can collectively get out of this crisis?— of this crisis? can i also take the opportunity _ of this crisis? can i also take the opportunity to — of this crisis? can i also take the opportunity to welcome - of this crisis? can i also take the opportunity to welcome him - of this crisis? can i also take the opportunity to welcome him to l of this crisis? can i also take the i opportunity to welcome him to his place. i don't want to brag here and i'd have to count, but i think i'm probably well above five when it comes to labour leaders i have faced across the chamber. can i say, in all seriousness, there is also the historic nature to the election of labour leader and it speaks well to the diversity of our country, so i wish him well in thejob. it the diversity of our country, so i wish him well in the job. it also proves one other thing, we will not just face off across the chamber is respective leaders of our parties, we are opponents in the constituency of glasgow south side, so we are proving again over the last few days that glasgow south side is the centre of the universe, which i know everybody in the chamber will agree with as much as we do, but i wish him all the best, i wish him a modicum degree of success in the weeks ahead... on the question she has asked me, in terms of a national recovery plan for education, the work to support recovery and education is already under way, the funding of set out, is the steps were supporting with local authorities, supervision of tutoring support, the money we have made available for teachers, the funding for local authorities they can use flexibly based upon what they consider is the most appropriate way, and we will keep that under review. i have said, the deputy first minister said, supporting children to come through and to catch up, notjust educationally but any whole range of ways from the experience of the last year will be a long term project. similarly, a mental health, we have already published a mental health recovery plan. the mental health minister will continue to keep them updated. before the pandemic transforming and redesigning the children mental health services was a priority, we had made progress on mental health counsellors for all secondary schools, that work needs to pick up and be intensified as the result of the space of the pandemic. finally, in vaccination, we exceeded the 400,000 a week and we had to do it, the constraining factor right now which is not within our control is supplied. the dip in daily vaccination rates in the last few weeks, which we flagged in advance, was entirely down to supply. if you look at numbers across the four nations, you will see that same depth. we expect that there might be in other next week. we don't expect that to affect the mid april targets. i'm not complacent about this, it takes a lot of work, but a lot of people across the entire country, we can go as fast as the supplies we have, the constraining factor is supplies, and that's why we continue to talk regularly to the pharmaceutical companies to get as long—term a site on their manufacturing and supply prospects as we can. we vaccinate people just as we can. we vaccinate people just as fast as we have the vaccine today. we can speak now to our scotland correspondent, alexandra mackenzie. asign of a sign of hope they are, all positive figures as there have been in england. the first minister seems to be saying that could be looking at exhilarating the planet of lockdown. at exhilarating the planet of lockdown-— at exhilarating the planet of lockdown. she started on an optimistic — lockdown. she started on an optimistic note, _ lockdown. she started on an optimistic note, saying - lockdown. she started on an optimistic note, saying the i lockdown. she started on an - optimistic note, saying the figures continue to go in the right direction. she then set out her route map last week, and this is just getting more details. she has indicated again, at the figures keep going in the right direction, that she may be able to accelerate. it was mainly the skills that she was talking about today. schools has always been a priority of the scottish government. some primary schools went back last week, that was primary 1—3, and also children at nursery school, they have already gone back. the other detail she announced that they haven't come as too much of a surprise. she had already indicated those dates. a little bit more detail today. initially she had talked about the rest of the primary school pupils, that would be primary for — seven, they will all go back full time from they will all go back full time from the 15th of march. we spoke to one teacher this morning he was expecting this, but was absolutely delighted she had some people is back for a week. she just said she was desperate to get the rest of the primary school pupils back. she said that she felt that the older pupils were just not possibly as motivated as they were working from home as they may be had been at the beginning. in terms of secondary school students, last week we just saw a few of those go back, the older ones. more secondary school pupils will go back from the 15th of march. what she has said is that all students in secondary schools should get some kind of face—to—face teaching, with all of them going back after the easter holidays. she said that the older pupils, is secondary for— six will be prioritised before the easter holidays, but she did hope that all secondary school students will get some learning from the 15th of march. she will get some learning from the 15th of march. ,, ., will get some learning from the 15th of march. . ., ., will get some learning from the 15th of march. ,, ., ., ., ' ~ of march. she outline more than 1.6 million people _ of march. she outline more than 1.6 million people received _ of march. she outline more than 1.6 million people received their - of march. she outline more than 1.6 million people received their first i million people received theirfirst dose of the vaccine, but she warned of supply problems next week. that’s of supply problems next week. that's ri . ht, that of supply problems next week. that's right. that had _ of supply problems next week. that's right, that had happened _ of supply problems next week. that's right, that had happened a _ of supply problems next week. “trust�*s right, that had happened a couple of ago as well. she has highlighted that again for a couple of weeks' time. they did describe this as either lumpy or bumpy, and it does kinda vary from week to week. the national clinical director goes on radio scotland this morning talking about that, anything that is going to happenjust about that, anything that is going to happen just throughout the process. when they get targets they say that is dependent on supply, so that will change from time to time, but scotland so far has managed to meet the targets that had been set out. the eis today, which is the biggest teaching union, they are campaigning on social media to get priority treatment or priority vaccinations for teachers and other people working in schools so far —— so for the government is not made any commitment to this. a survey in england that came out yesterday suggested that teachers are no more likely to catch a covid than any of their other peer groups. the government in northern ireland is expected to publish it's plans later on how the country will exit lockdown. ministers have been meeting to finalise a road map on easing restrictions and its thought an agreement has now been made. chris page reports. the ovens are still being loaded with lockdown loaves, but the artisan bread is for takeaway only. customers haven't sat inside for months. the owners of this bakehouse in ballycastle hope the exit strategy will provide clarity. we don't want to open unless it's totally viable for us and our staff. although we have been able to be quite flexible, it has been really sad in a way to see a business you've built up over so many years be paused. ciara has had her third child during the covid era, but many of her relatives haven't met her daughter. the family would love reunions to be possible in the summer. she will be one injuly and ijust think that her party, hopefully, is going to be a big celebration of her birth and her first year. the past 12 months have brought challenges and changes here. sarah has just opened a coffee hut, because her hair salon has been closed for so long. she says reopening will take some preparation. with people not having their hair done for so long, we nearly need double the product, double the time. so, really, notice is the best thing the assembly could give us. the number of positive tests, hospital admissions and deaths have been falling in this part of the uk. but ministers in the devolved government are stressing that restrictions will be eased slowly, cautiously and, they hope, permanently. a brighter spring is beckoning, but it is thought the plan will not include firm dates for relaxing the rules. chris page, bbc news in county antrim. the regulator, ofgem, says more than a million people have been overcharged by energy firms, during the process of switching suppliers. 18 suppliers, including the biggest names in the sector, made errors leading to overcharging of more than £7 million. they are refunding the money and making extra payments in some cases. bbc three is to return as a broadcast tv channel in january next year. the channel behind shows including normal people, killing eve and fleabag, moved online in 2016 and is expected to start rebroadcasting in 2022, subject to ofcom approval. the bbc says it is part of a drive to deliver �*more value to audiences�*. holiday firm pontins has agreed to change its working practices and culture after a whistleblower revealed it was operating a blacklist as part of a system of routine discrimination against gypsy and traveller families. an investigation by the equality and human rights commission found that the company had been using the blacklist of mainly irish surnames as part of a policy of refusing bookings by gypsies and travellers to its holiday parks. the list was uploaded to the pontins intranet under the heading "undesirable guests", instructing call handlers that people using these names were "unwelcome". britannia jinkyjersey limited, owner of pontins, has signed a legal agreement to prevent racial discrimination after it became aware of the discriminatory practices. a "summer of surprises" is being billed as coventry prepares for it's delayed uk city of culture programme. further events have been announced this lunchtime, including the booker prize, and a celebration of street art. the festival will now start in mid—may because of the pandemic. let's now speak to chenine bhathena, she is the creative director for coventry uk city of culture — which is organising the guests. asummer a summer surprises, we a summer surprises, we are a summer surprises, we are going to spoil some now as we've already given some away. what are the others? ~ ., ., .,, given some away. what are the others? ~ ., ., ., others? we have whole host of surrises others? we have whole host of surprises on — others? we have whole host of surprises on the _ others? we have whole host of surprises on the website - others? we have whole host of| surprises on the website waiting others? we have whole host of - surprises on the website waiting for people to go on, check in, sign up to our newsletter and get more information. we have art, architecture, public realm, festivals, music, so much coming to coventry this summer. haifa festivals, music, so much coming to coventry this summer.— festivals, music, so much coming to coventry this summer. how much of it are ou coventry this summer. how much of it are you planning _ coventry this summer. how much of it are you planning on — coventry this summer. how much of it are you planning on the _ coventry this summer. how much of it are you planning on the basis - coventry this summer. how much of it are you planning on the basis of - are you planning on the basis of this is going to have to be virtual? you know, we really, having spent a whole year looking at screens, are trying to look at how we can make our programme as light as possible. that doesn't mean there won't be any screen time, and there won't be some amazing programmes brought across tv, radio and others, but we are trying to put the live back into a programme where we can. sell trying to put the live back into a programme where we can. sell it to me, wh programme where we can. sell it to me. why should _ programme where we can. sell it to me. why should i — programme where we can. sell it to me, why should i go _ programme where we can. sell it to me, why should i go to _ programme where we can. sell it to me, why should i go to coventry? i programme where we can. sell it to i me, why should i go to coventry? you want to come — me, why should i go to coventry? you want to come to _ me, why should i go to coventry? ym. want to come to coventry because we are the city that moves, an extraordinarily creative city, a city of architecture, city of sanctuary, a city that is taking his time now is to really make the most of this extraordinary moment, and coming through the pandemic, showing the real resilience of our people, other artist, of our business community, to really look at how we can put culture at the forefront of our recovery and renewal. if can put culture at the forefront of our recovery and renewal.- can put culture at the forefront of our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, our recovery and renewal. if you are honest. he — our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, he will— our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, he will say _ our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, he will say this _ our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, he will say this isn't - our recovery and renewal. if you are honest, he will say this isn't the - honest, he will say this isn't the best time to be the city of culture as we come out of this nightmare? you know what, it has been challenging to put together a festival at this time. but i think what it has given us is a different way of looking at the world, different way of connecting with communities, different way of thinking about the stories we want to tell, making sure we are connecting with people locally, but the stories we are telling are globally relevant and people need this, they need this as part of the healing and the way in which we want to come back together and start our lives afresh as we come through this pandemic, so, actually, it's an extraordinary opportunity for the city, and a great way for us to renew ourselves. as, city, and a great way for us to renew ourselves.— renew ourselves. a great opportunity _ renew ourselves. a great opportunity. how- renew ourselves. a great opportunity. how will. renew ourselves. a greatj opportunity. how will the renew ourselves. a great - opportunity. how will the city benefit? ., ~ ., �* opportunity. how will the city benefit? ., ~' ., �* ., ., , benefit? you know, we're going to be welcoming. — benefit? you know, we're going to be welcoming. at — benefit? you know, we're going to be welcoming, at the _ benefit? you know, we're going to be welcoming, at the right _ benefit? you know, we're going to be welcoming, at the right time, - welcoming, at the right time, thousands of visitors to the city, were also going to be working sustainably, investing locally, and local talent, sustainably, investing locally, and localtalent, on sustainably, investing locally, and local talent, on the local supply chain. we are hoping that once our food and our restaurants and our bars are all open, that they will benefit from all of the visitors coming back into the city, and our citizens as well. and we have also received a huge amount of investment in the city and regeneration in the public realm, as well as in cultural buildings. you probably saw the announcement of the new collection centre at the ikea building, one of a whole stream of amazing investments coming into the city. good luck with it and we will talk to you neither the time. thank you forjoining us. liverpool football club has said its deeply saddened by the death of ian stjohn, describing the former player as an anfield legend. he was 82. andy swiss reports. fans chant. amid liverpool's stars of the 1960s, few shone as brightly as ian stjohn. when hejoined, the club was languishing in the second division. he scores! but stjohn's goals helped to transform them into the best team in england. under the great bill shankly he won two league titles but perhaps his greatest moment came at wembley in 1965. and it's a goal! that extra time goal took liverpool to their first fa cup and it sealed stjohn's status as a club legend. he also starred for scotland, scoring nine goals for his country and although he retired as a player in 1973, a new career beckoned. theme music plays. he joined forces withjimmy greaves and the tv show saint and greavsie was a huge hit. well, hello and good afternoon. the programme ran for nearly a decade, stjohn winning millions of new fans with his warmth and wit. hello there. well, euro 92 is all over, jim and i are still here in stockholm. among the tributes, sir geoff hurst described him as a great footballer who'd been fantastic on saint and greavsie. as the sport remembered both a player and a ground—breaking broadcaster. he was the anchor but he was also the straight man but he also had the jokes as well. people said it wasjust a light—hearted show, as you know, that's sometimes the hardest thing possible to do. he completely changed the way punditry was done in sport. a man, then, whose versatility was matched only by his popularity. both on and off the pitch, one of football's finest. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, there. contrasting conditions once again across the country. it was a cold night into the far north—west, with a frost, but that has brought some beautiful sunshine. just take a look at keswick in cumbria this morning, not a cloud in the sky. a different story further east, once again close to the north sea — we are likely to keep the low cloud, the misty murkiness, which will have quite an impact on the temperature. and the satellite picture is really illustrating that point quite nicely. the western fringes of scotland, north—west england, wales, down into the south—west so far has seen the best of the suntan. seen the best of the sunshine. as we go through the day we are confident that some of that cloud will start to burn back to north sea coasts, but it may linger once again across parts of eastern england down into lincolnshire and those temperatures are likely to struggle, as well. so at the very best, we could just see around 5 or 6 degrees here, top temperatures through the afternoon peaking at 13 celsius. now, as we move into the evening we are likely to see more fog returning in off the north sea. by contrast, a bit more of a breeze will pick up and a weak weather front will bring some showers into the far south—west of cornwall and devon as we go through the end of the night. here temperature staying at around 7 degrees, elsewhere with the cloud around we will perhaps keep those temperatures above freezing. so this little front is going to enhance some showers down to the south—west, spreading their way slowly northwards as we go through the day on wednesday. some of those showers could be quite heavy, maybe the odd rumble of thunder feeling their way steadily out of wales towards the midlands and maybe perhaps along that m4 corridor, as well. to the north and east, we keep some cloud. it stays disappointing where the cloud is at around 4 or 5 degrees, top temperatures once again in the south—east if we get some sunshine at 14. but the weather story is set to change, the colder air will return as a new area of high pressure drifts in from the north and we start to see the wind direction swinging round to more of a north—easterly. that is going to drive in a cooler air mass across the country eventually, so by thursday a different feel for all of us. there will be a fair amount of cloud around as well by comparison. top temperatures likely to be 5—8 degrees. we mightjust scrape double figures into the far south—west, but this cooler, quieter story is set to stay with us right into the weekend. no significant rain, but a disappointing feel. this is bbc news. the headlines: deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a result of lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the health secretary says the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england. we have identified the batch of home test kits in question and a search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the south—east of england and we are contacting each of them. tomorrow in the budget we'll hear that furlough will be extended, alongside a £400 million boost for the culture sector. nicola sturgeon says the next phase of school returns in scotland will go ahead on march 15 with all pupils back full time after easter and says her government is considering whether restrictions can be eased more rapidly. we will be considering if it might be possible to accelerate the exit from lockdown in any way, consisting of course with the care and caution we know continues to be necessary. a five—step plan for easing the coronavirus lockdown in northern ireland has been agreed by the stormont executive. scotland's top lawyer faces questions about the scottish government's handling of complaints against former first minister alex salmond. and coming up this hour... a congregation in herefordshire are shocked to discover an ordinary looking painting of the last supper is actually a long—lost masterpiece. good afternoon. the figures speak for themselves — and they paint a picture which suggests the battle against covid is on the turn. the number of weekly registered coronavirus deaths in england and wales has fallen by more than a quarter in a week — to the lowest level since the start of the year. the figures from the office for national statistics suggest that the latest national lockdown — and the sucessful vaccination programme — are working. there's good news too on hospital admissions — down by 80% for those aged over 80 who've received a single dose of vaccine. the results have been described by the head of the oxford vaccine project as �*stunning'. the government says there's no cause for complacency — and sticking to restrictions remains vital. our health correspondent anna collinson reports. more than a third of adults in the uk have now had theirfirst coronavirus vaccine. widely hailed a success, the roll—out has received a further boost after real—world data suggests one dose of either the oxford or the pfizerjab cuts the risk of serious illness by 80% in the over 80s. this data comes from the hardest group to protect, those who are the most frail, the oldest adults in our population. and we are seeing an 80% reduction in hospitalisation in that group, which is stunning. there are now clear signs the epidemic is moving in the right direction and the vaccine roll—out is working. new data shows covid deaths are continuing to fall, with 4,447 registered in the uk in the week to the 19th of february — that is down byjust over a quarter on the previous week. the number of people who've developed immunity also appears to be rising. latest figures estimate one in four people have coronavirus antibodies in england. in wales and northern ireland it's thought to be one in six and in scotland one in eight. but there are concerns that the vaccine is not working as well against some emerging variants, particularly one which was first detected here in manaus injanuary. six cases of the so—called brazil variant have been identified in the uk. while the hunt goes on to locate other potential cases, epidemiologists say they are more concerned about studying how the virus�*s genes are changing. the uk is leading the way in terms of molecular surveillance of the virus, but we are still only genotyping about 25% of cases. if we could really bring down the number of cases much lower, we could be genotyping every case and we could be much more confident about new variants arising and our vaccine strategy. the government is promising brighter days ahead, but for now, the advice is to remain vigilant. anna collinson, bbc news. health secretary matt hancock told mps that the search for one unidentified person in the uk linked to the brazil variant has been narrowed to south east england. he was speaking in the house of commons this lunchtime. we know five of these six people have quarantined at home as they are legally required to do. we have been in contact with them. i would like to place on record my gratitude for them for following the rules. whenever we find a new variant we respond fast and come down hard by bringing in enhanced sequencing and testing, so we are stepping up our testing and sequencing in south gloucestershire as a precaution. we have no evidence that the variant has spread further but unfortunately one of the six people completed a test but did not fully leave contact details. incidences like this are rare. i can update the house on the latest information on identifying this case. we have identified the batch of home test kits in question and our search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the south—east of england and we are contacting each one. mary ramsay is the head of immunisation at public health england. she gave me this reaction to the news that coronavirus deaths are at their lowest level since the start of the year. it is good news, and the vaccine we were all waiting for, it has shown it works and we know it is a safe and uptake is high and the nhs is doing a brilliantjob of delivering the programme and it is beginning to make a difference. in the words of one commentator, "absolutely stunning," when we are talking about hospital admissions for those over 80, as well. that's right. as that commentator said, getting a vaccine to work in older people is always a challenge. we find that with other vaccines with flu, they don't work as well in older people, but this vaccine, is having very high levels of protection against serious disease, even with a single dose, in people over 80, so that is really exceptional. with the second dose, as well, that will give them additional protection that will last longer, and we really do have a hope of preventing people from dying from this disease. over and over again, every time someone gets a vaccine. mary, we are not out of the woods yet but if things continue on this trend, when would you say that we are looking at a virus that is under control? we have a long way to go yet. we have vaccinated a very high proportion of the older population but most of the working age have not yet been touched by the vaccine. we really need to get high levels of protection in that group to prevent the disease spreading because even a very small number of people left unprotected, either because they may have immunological problems which stops them responding to vaccine or they have chosen not to be vaccinated, and those people will be better protected when everybody else is protected, so i think we have a way to go yet. hopefully if we can get the bulk of the adult population covered, that will allow us to go back much closer to what a normal life was before the pandemic. the enemy at the heart of this, and we need in the media to be as careful as anybody else, it is complacency, that people start to feel that this is fine and we are out of the woods, but things need to stay as they are at the moment. yes, people need to think about the next stage as we move into younger people — they may be less worried about the virus themselves but they need to think about this as a way to protect not only themselves but their friends and family. the big message, if you are called for a vaccine, come and get vaccinated, and that is the way as a community that we will get out of this problem. borisjohnson and rishi sunak say they want tomorrow's budget to "unleash growth". the prime minister's press secretary told reporters that the budget would be about business growth and supporting jobs. earlier, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng has all but confirmed that the furlough scheme will be extended untiljune. it's also being reported that there'll be extra support for the badly—hit culture sector. £408 million will help museums, theatres and galleries in england to reopen once restrictions start to ease. there'll be a £150 million fund to help communities to take over local pubs. £300 million will go to sport, with what's being called a "significant chunk" being given to cricket. and an extra £77 million will be given to the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland to provide their culture groups with similar backing. our economics correspondent andy verity has this report. remember this? the atmosphere of a busy pub. but after a covid christmas and no punters for months on end, pubs are in deep financial trouble and unlikely to be back to normal business when the furlough scheme was scheduled to stop at the end of april. today, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng confirmed it would be extended beyond that. a key budget announcement affecting 4.7 million people put out a day before the budget. can you tell us, are you looking at extending furlough and when might that be until? i think the chancellor has already indicated that we will be extending furlough, i think that's been part of a public announcement. i think there will be other measures that we will see tomorrow. for now, what we have to do is to support businesses, individuals and families through what has been an extremely difficult time. the government has also announced a £150 million fund to help communities take over stricken pubs. there will also be £300 million to help sports venues recover, such as cricket clubs, and 408 million for museums, theatres and galleries. pub owners say to stay afloat this year, they will need more help on top of the furlough scheme. we're paying 100% rent. even though our rent has been deferred, when we go to open up, with restrictions, our rent is going to be higher because they are going to be clawing back the rent that's been deferred on top. it's a lot of rent to find when your doors have been closed for a long period of time. so far this financial year rishi sunak has spent £271 billion more than the government's income from taxes, nearly twice the deficit after the financial crisis. senior politicians across parties are calling for that to be dealt with by tax rises, with few calls so far for spending cuts. but timing is crucial. if the government raises taxes or withdraws support from businesses too soon it could stifle any economic recovery. the chancellor's critics say he must now help millions of small business owners and self—employed workers who struggled for a year without a penny from either the furlough scheme or self—employed income support, when they could be contributing to a recovery. i'm extremely worried that there are thousands of small businesses and self—employed people who are teetering on the brink and we could see an avalanche of redundancies if we don't have really ambitious action. so, the liberal democrats are calling for a budget that is targeted on small businesses, on the high street, cafe owners, hairdressers, bricklayers, and those sorts of people, some of whom have had no help during the pandemic. at least one big question remains unanswered ahead of tomorrow — how big are rishi sunak�*s plans to stimulate the economy? in the united states, the biden administration is planning to spend unprecedented sums creating newjobs to get the economy going again. so far, the uk government's plans are on a far smaller scale. andy verity, bbc news. our political correspondent damian grammaticas is at westminster. i remember when the days when you knew what was in a budget on the budget. knew what was in a budget on the bud . et. ., ., knew what was in a budget on the budaet. ., ., , knew what was in a budget on the budaet. ., . , ., , , budget. now we have been having bits and ieces budget. now we have been having bits and pieces coming _ budget. now we have been having bits and pieces coming out _ budget. now we have been having bits and pieces coming out over _ budget. now we have been having bits and pieces coming out over the - budget. now we have been having bits and pieces coming out over the last i and pieces coming out over the last few days, announcements of different things, so over the weekend it was support for businesses as they go through the last months of the lockdown and prepare to reopen, and, yes, we have the stuff about arts and sports, and then it wasn't quite meant to come out but the business secretary said this morning, that they will be extending the photo scheme and that is one of the big ones. normally you wait for that until the day itself —— the furlough scheme. that is 4.7 million people, so a really important announcement for them to hear and their employers, and this goes back to when the government told businesses to close their doors last year because of the pandemic, to stop the spread of the virus, having told them to close, and it then stepped in to support wages to prevent any mass redundancies. questions because thatis mass redundancies. questions because that is going to expire in april and confirmation that it will continue. it appears it will be until the end of restrictions, that is injune, but what then happens is the really critical question, because does the government start to withdraw it at that point? will there be a cliff edge? it is really expensive and it costs a lot of money. the other thing we understand from a cabinet source is that the universal credit uplift of the additional £20 added last year, £1000 per year, that has made a huge difference to a lot of people, but that will continue as well for six months. these announcements, quite important, and really affecting many people, and they are coming out in bits and pieces. they are coming out in bits and ieces. ., :: ' they are coming out in bits and ieces. . :: ' ., pieces. here we are in 2021 and there has _ pieces. here we are in 2021 and there has been _ pieces. here we are in 2021 and there has been a _ pieces. here we are in 2021 and there has been a law _ pieces. here we are in 2021 and there has been a law change i pieces. here we are in 2021 and i there has been a law change which allows cabinet level ministers to go on maternity leave.— on maternity leave. even more remarkably _ on maternity leave. even more remarkably they _ on maternity leave. even more remarkably they couldn't. - on maternity leave. even more remarkably they couldn't. that| on maternity leave. even more l remarkably they couldn't. that is the oint remarkably they couldn't. that is the point i _ remarkably they couldn't. that is the point i was _ remarkably they couldn't. that is the point i was making! - remarkably they couldn't. that is i the point i was making! laughter they were not able to without resigning which is pretty anachronistic, so what we have seen, the law has been changed and this is so the attorney general is now going off on maternity leave to have her second child, i think, and she will be replaced by the solicitor general michael ellis. so, yes, a step forward, and she will be off now for six months but back in. she has a title when she is off, minister on leave attorney general. excellent. thanks forjoining _ leave attorney general. excellent. thanks forjoining us. _ let's get reaction to the reports that the furlough scheme will be extended. we can talk to michelle ovens, director at the organisation small business britain — which supports millions of small businesses across the uk. we have got a cabinet minister this morning confirming that furlough will be extended and that must be a big relief? will be extended and that must be a bi relief? ~ , ,., , will be extended and that must be a bi relief? ~ ,,., , ,., big relief? absolutely. it sounded like it came _ big relief? absolutely. it sounded like it came out _ big relief? absolutely. it sounded like it came out accidentally - big relief? absolutely. it sounded like it came out accidentally and i big relief? absolutely. it sounded i like it came out accidentally and we haven't seen an official briefing on the furlough scheme but it was widely expected that it would be extended to some degree. the devil will be in the detail as to what point it is extended onto and then how it gets wound down because what we don't want is a cliff edge. whereby it kind of switches off and there has to be a recognition that businesses cannot switch back on again, there will be a ramp up period of time to get revenues back and get stuff and we would like to see furlough follow that trajectory. it seems to have been one of the success thing is that the government has done since the start of this nightmare began, i mean, how many businesses have survived as a result of it? ~ ., , ., , businesses have survived as a result ofit?~ .,, businesses have survived as a result ofit? ~ ., , , ., of it? millions. it has been an absolute lifeline _ of it? millions. it has been an absolute lifeline for _ of it? millions. it has been an. absolute lifeline for businesses of it? millions. it has been an - absolute lifeline for businesses and employees, of course. we know a lot of businesses who have had to scale back their staff over the course of the pandemic, but the furlough scheme has been a massive lifeline, being able to keep staff and experience, of course, people you want to keep, long—term employees in the business, but you literally don't have the income to support that, so it has been a massive lifeline and we just need to make sure we don't turn it off before we switch back on a business as usual. some businesses have thrived through lockdown and others have really struggled as we know, but are we in a position where as soon as the furlough scheme and there are businesses that will just shut down? there are definitely going to be a period of difficulty as the furlough scheme ends, and remember that business needs to be continuing in some way to keep staff on furlough and there are still some costs, to pay national insurance and pension contributions, so the chances are, not so much businesses failing but there is the risk of a mass unemployment if the furlough scheme ends really suddenly. what we need to be looking at is how do we help businesses get back on their feet, and some businesses have thrived during the pandemic as you say, but more businesses than that have really struggled. we need to look at ways to help them get back on their feet, whether that is driving footfall, span, consumer confidence, helping with supply chains, helping with skills, management skills, we heard an announcement about that this morning, the help to grow scheme, we need to think about how we help businesses to transition and get back on their feet, rather than just cut off the furlough scheme tap and hope for the best. iloathed just cut off the furlough scheme tap and hope for the best.— and hope for the best. what will become normal? _ and hope for the best. what will become normal? a— and hope for the best. what will become normal? a lot - and hope for the best. what will become normal? a lot of - and hope for the best. what willj become normal? a lot of people and hope for the best. what will - become normal? a lot of people have been working from home, so do you think, some peoplejust want been working from home, so do you think, some people just want to get back to work to talk to other people face—to—face? back to work to talk to other people face-to-face?_ face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size — face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size fits _ face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size fits all— face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size fits all and _ face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size fits all and for— face-to-face? absolutely. it is not a one size fits all and for some - a one size fits all and for some people working from home has worked really well, and it has helped manage their time better and they have spent more time with their family, but for others it has made them more isolated, especially those who live on their own and who want the camaraderie and to get back to an office, if they work in an office based business. people on furlough have struggled, it has been a bit in limbo we have seen a lot of mental health challenges for people who have been off on furlough in this time, and i don't think we will go back to a world that looks exactly like it did before. a lot of things have changed, especially for small businesses. they have realised some benefits from a more digital and more remote way of working, we have seen digital skills go through the roof and of course online sales and new ways of working but also ways of saving costs as well. we would like to see some of those continue and of course some of those help the environment as well so we get some great sustainability benefits coming out of that, there is travel and less wastage. it is not all bad. there are some positives that have come out of this and if we can keep some of that and learn some of those lessons, and bring back some of the good stuff we have been missing, we could be in a not too bad place as we come into the summer. igrate could be in a not too bad place as we come into the summer. we will talk tomorrow _ we come into the summer. we will talk tomorrow after _ we come into the summer. we will talk tomorrow after the _ we come into the summer. we will talk tomorrow after the budget, i we come into the summer. we willj talk tomorrow after the budget, no doubt. for now, thanks forjoining us. the headlines on bbc news... deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a resuly lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england — according to matt hancock. the next stage of a phased return to schools in scotland is to get underway later this month. children in primary years p1 to p3 are already back at school. in the last hour, first minister nicola sturgeon has set out the next steps to the scottish parliament. the next phase of reopening education will take place on the 15th of march and i can confirm that from that date, unless new evidence and new circumstances force us to reconsider which we hope will not be the case, all children in primary 4-7 the case, all children in primary 4—7 will go back to school on a full—time basis. all primary schoolchildren will also be able to return to regulated child care including after—school breakfast clubs. we will also take the next steps in a phased return to secondary schools from the 15th of march with a clear expectation that all school pupils, secondary school pupils will be back in school on a full—time basis following the easter holidays. but it is the intention that all secondary school pupils will return to spend some time in school from the 15th of march until the easter break. students in the senior phase of secondary school, years 4—6, who are taking national qualifications, they will have priority for face—to—face lessons in school and this will make sure they can have their hard work fairly recognised with qualifications under the alternative certification model. and although years 4—6 might have priority we expect that all children in secondary school will receive some in—school education each week until the break and then return full—time following that. this will allow pupils to get used to being backin allow pupils to get used to being back in school and allow them to start seeing friends again and i'm sure everyone will agree that this is important for the well—being of young people as well as for education. our scotland correspondent alexandra mackenzie told me first minister nicola sturgeon sounded a positive note on the possible lifting of covid—19 restrictions. she said the figures were continuing to go in the right direction and the number of new daily cases was back to where we were in october so she didn't set out her route map last week and this is just giving more details. she has indicated again that if the figures keep going in the right direction that she may be able to accelerate. it was mainly schools that she was talking about today, schools has always been a priority of the scottish government. some primary schools went back last week, that was primary 1—3 and also children at nursery school, they have already gone back, and the other details she announced today haven't come as too much of a surprise. she had already indicated those dates but a little more detail today. initially she talked about the rest of the primary school pupils so that would be primary 4—7, they will all go back full—time from they will all go back full—time from the 15th of march. we spoke to one teacher this morning who was expecting this but is absolutely delighted. she had some pupils back for a week and she said she was desperate to get the rest of the primary school pupils back. she said she felt that the older pupils were just not possibly as motivated as they were working from home as they may be had been at the beginning. in terms of secondary school students, last week we saw just a few of those go back, the older ones, and just for practical lessons, like drama classes, things you could not do easily on your zoom classes that people have started getting used to, and so bought secondary school pupils will go back from the 15th of march. what she has said, all students in secondary schools should get some kind of face—to—face teaching with all of them going back after the easter holidays. she said the older pupils, secondary 4—6 will be prioritised before the easter holidays but she did hope that all secondary school students will get some face—to—face learning from the 15th of march. the scottish government has admitted its lawyers had reservations about its position in a civil court case brought by alex salmond. mr salmond successfully sued the government over its investigation into him which cost the taxpayer at least half a million pounds. he claims they should have dropped it months earlier. meanwhile the top law officer in scotland has defended the crown office — after it expressed concerns about the publication of parts of mr salmond's evidence to msps. nick eardley reports. this is a politicalfallout on the grandest scale. nicola sturgeon's government is facing big questions. herformer mentor, alex salmond, says he's convinced she broke the rules ministers have to follow several times. i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code, but it's not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. this is alex salmond in 2019. he'd just taken the scottish government to court. judges found the policy used to investigate him had been unlawful, but mr salmond has claimed that ministers knew for weeks that they were likely to lose the case. waiting could have cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. for months, parliament has been trying to force the government to publish its legal advice. until now, it has refused. but faced with a vote of no confidence, scotland's deputy first minister has been forced to change his mind. mr swinney admitted reservations were raised by lawyers in october, that's two months before they admitted defeat. he goes onto argue that there were reasonable grounds to continue with the case. this is very clear in the legal advice that it was not going to be a successful case that had been launched, and the government should have acknowledged that. this crisis has seen criticism of the leadership of a number of scotland's institutions, from the government, to the civil service. last week, there were even claims of a cover—up after the crown office which is the prosecution body in scotland, said some of alex salmond's evidence had to be taken down from the parliamentary website because it could be in contempt of court. today, the scottish government's top lawyer hit back. any suggestion from any quarter that the crown's decision making has at any time been influenced by irrelevant considerations or improper motivations would be wholly without foundation. it will be nicola sturgeon's turn to appear before the committee tomorrow. she's denied breaking the ministerial code and said claims of a conspiracy against alex salmond just aren't true. nick eardley, bbc news. a five—step plan for easing the coronavirus lockdown in northern ireland has been agreed by the stormont executive. unlike plans announced in england, the blueprint does not include a timetable. the deputy first minister michelle o'neill will set out details in the assembly within the next hour. chris, what is the point, if there is no timetable?— chris, what is the point, if there is no timetable? some businesses will be asking _ is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that _ is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that question, - is no timetable? some businesses will be asking that question, they| will be asking that question, they had asked for indicative dates as to when they could reopen, but that is not in the plan as you have said. what the northern ireland executive has done is set out five steps 49 different sectors of the economy —— for nine different sectors. those nine areas for example include hospitality, retail, travel and tourism, education, and each of them have five steps attached but the first step is the current lockdown restrictions that we are now income at the lockdown has been in place since boxing day and is currently in place until early next month —— that we are now in, and the lockdown. it could be in easter when we move into step two but as far as moving through the five steps are concerned, steps to— four relaxations and step five it seems to be something resembling normality. we will get more detail on this when the deputy first minister michelle o'neill gives details in the stormont assembly in the next half an hour or so. it is regarding how ministers decide and when the relaxations should happen, but they will set out in the planning document various criteria around the public health situation, for example how the vaccination programme is going on the number of hospital admissions and of course the number of positive cases of coronavirus and a number of deaths. these figures have been moving in the right direction, for example, the right direction, for example, the latest figures published today say that the number of patients in hospital had dropped below 300, but ministers have been stressing as the document has been drawn up that the lockdown is only going to be eased cautiously and carefully because they hope that this time they will be no return to mactan.— be no return to mactan. chris, thanks for— be no return to mactan. chris, thanks forjoining _ be no return to mactan. chris, thanks forjoining us. -- - be no return to mactan. chris, thanks forjoining us. -- this i be no return to mactan. chris, - thanks forjoining us. -- this time thanks for “oining us. -- this time there will thanks forjoining us. -- this time there will be _ thanks forjoining us. -- this time there will be no _ thanks forjoining us. -- this time there will be no return _ thanks forjoining us. -- this time there will be no return to - thanks forjoining us. -- this time i there will be no return to lockdown. holiday firm pontins has agreed to change its working practices and culture after a whistleblower revealed it was operating a blacklist as part of a system of routine discrimination against gypsy and traveller families. an investigation by the equality and human rights commission found that the company had been using the blacklist of mainly irish surnames as part of a policy of refusing bookings by gypsies and travellers to its holiday parks. our business correspondent vivienne nunis is here. they had a number of policies which excluded travel and chips and a family summer holiday parks in england and wales and one of those was a list of names on the internet —— which excluded travellers and gypsies. some of the common surnames which were listed, the likes of murphy, if a customer with that name tried to book, they will try to assess if they were from the traveller community and then refuse the booking, they also said if they had an irish accent on the phone, they might be refused, and also vehicles like caravans would be another clue, i suppose, vehicles like caravans would be another clue, isuppose, and vehicles like caravans would be another clue, i suppose, and staff were told that if they thought they were told that if they thought they were gypsy or travellers they should refuse their customer. iloathed were gypsy or travellers they should refuse their customer.— refuse their customer. what have lantin . s refuse their customer. what have plantings had _ refuse their customer. what have plantings had to _ refuse their customer. what have plantings had to do? _ refuse their customer. what have plantings had to do? they - refuse their customer. what have plantings had to do? they have i refuse their customer. what have i plantings had to do? they have had to sin a plantings had to do? they have had to sign a legally _ plantings had to do? they have had to sign a legally binding _ plantings had to do? they have had to sign a legally binding documentl to sign a legally binding document that they will change their practices and if there are any further breaches there could be court action which could lead to a fine but at the moment all they have to do is sign the agreement. the equality and human rights commission said it is hard not to draw comparison between what pontins are doing and signs in the pub windows 50 years ago that barred specific groups. the prime minister's official spokesman was also asked about this and he said it is completely unacceptable to com pletely u na cce pta ble to discriminate completely unacceptable to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity, and it is right that the hrc and pontins have investigated this. now it's time for a look at the weather with louise lear. hello, again. once again it has been a day of contrast across the country. we've seen some beautiful sunshine across western fringes, as you can see quite clearly. a lot of cloud lingering close to those north sea coasts and perhaps it will continue like that all day. you can see clearly where that powder spelling of the north sea on the satellite picture. more cloud putting in through the evening and overnight and at the same time a weak front pushing into the far south—west that will bring some showers into cornwall and south wales by the end of the night. here perhaps temperature staying at six or 7 degrees, low single figures under the cloud, may be just below freezing if the cloud continues to be well broken. so tomorrow we can split the country into three. sharp showers from the south—west, the cloud once again lingering over the east coast, sheltering areas of western scotland and north—west england may be dry and sunny. the temperature is disappointing out of the east, a maximum of 14. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a resuly lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england — according to matt hancock we have identified the batch of home test kits in question and a search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the south—east of england and we are contacting each of them. nicola sturgeon says the next phase of school returns in scotland will go ahead on march 15 with all pupils back full time after easter and says her government is considering whether restrictions can be eased more rapidly. tomorrow in the budget we'll hear that furlough will be extended, and a £400 million boost for the culture sector. scotland's top lawyer faces questions about the scottish government's handling of complaints against former first minister alex salmond. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's gavin. good afternoon. many friends and admirers of liverpool legend ian stjohn have been reflecting on his career, after it was announced he'd died at the age of 82.... stjohn first played at motherwell, before signing for liverpool in 1961 — and becoming a key member of bill shankly�*s famous team which transformed the club from a second tier outfit to one of the biggest sides in europe. he was also capped 21 times for scotland. after retiring as a player, he began a successful television career as a pundit, later teaming up withjimmy greaves for the popular saint and greavsie show in the 1980s and 90s. pat nevin knew stjohn well — and he recalls the impact he made. at liverpool he became a legendary figure, not only for the team, liverpool had been struggling in the second division. bill shankly himself said it was the start of liverpool becoming a great club. he scored a goal in the fa cup final, a cracker of a header that won it in extra time. anyone who has done that enough in the game anyway. all the other things he did as well. he started to bring liverpool to become what it was, a giant of world football. liverpool players past and present have been quick to pay tribute on social media... vice—captain james milner said simply... "rip ian stjohn — what a player, what a man". left—back andy robertson wrote... "a man of warmth, humour, knowledge, wisdom and joy. scotland and liverpool has lost a true giant". this from former captain phil thompson... "so sad to hear of the passing of the saint. he gave me one of my greatest childhood memories in him winning the fa cup in �*65". ex forward john aldridge said... "so sad to hear the news of the great ian stjohn passing away. what an inspiration watching from the terraces at anfield he was, also a cracking bloke". leading trainer gordon elliot says he fears his licence will be taken away, after a picture emerged on social media showing him sitting on a dead horse. he told david jennings of the racing post that his world was crumbling. eliott has apologised, saying it was a "moment of madness" but he's been suspended from racing in great britain until an investigation is concluded. elliott has won the grand national three times — twice with tiger roll — and he's licensed in ireland — but the british horseracing authority said it was appalled. the new mercedes car has been unveiled ahead of the new formula one season. the team — who won the constructors title — have carried over their anti—racism black paint job from last season, updated with a flick of silver to represent their traditional colours. world champion lewis hamilton is bidding for another world title in the car, his 8th overall — in what could be his final season with the team. he extended his contract last month to the end of the season. andy murray says his critics make him feel as though he's playing for his career every time he steps on court. he was speaking after his first tour—level win since august. he was on the verge of another early exit at the rotterdam open but he came from a set down to beat robin haase. once world number one, murray is now ranked 123rd, following two hip operations — but he has vowed to face his challenges head on. it is not easy. every time i lose a match everyone thinks, or i'm getting told to retire, that i should stop playing, that i am finished and have got nothing left and whatever, and it sad and all of these things. it's like, it's not easy. it adds a bit of extra stress, there is in it bit of extra doubt there. on top of that, i'm playing with a metal hip, which is hard. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. bbc three is to return as a broadcast tv channel in january next year. the channel behind shows including normal people, killing eve and fleabag— moved online in 2016 and is expected to start rebroadcasting in 2022 , subject to ofcom approval. the bbc says it is part of a drive to deliver �*more value to audiences�*. let's discuss this with our media editor, amol rajan. in moving forward, the bbc goes five years back? in moving forward, the bbc goes five ears back? , in moving forward, the bbc goes five years back?— years back? yes, when the bbc took bbc three of — years back? yes, when the bbc took bbc three of eire _ years back? yes, when the bbc took bbc three of eire made _ years back? yes, when the bbc took bbc three of eire made a _ years back? yes, when the bbc took bbc three of eire made a digital - bbc three of eire made a digital only channel, two reasons were given, the need to save money, the bbc is always on a cost—cutting drive, it someone at the moment, the second was the feeling that younger people, were bbc three were aimed, were mostly not watching linear tv, as it's called, the watching digital platforms instead. since then a few different things happen. one is young people have definitely towards digital platform, acceleration away from linear has accelerated, but bbc three has had a number of absolutely enormous hits. you mentioned a couple there, killing eve, amongst others, but the bbc has come under huge pressure to prove it is relevant to young people. they've done a bit of market research, but there's still a hard core of young people who will watch bbc three on linear tv, and the calculation they have made with the circumstances of 2021 is that despite the need to save money, it is worth putting these massive hits back on linear channel, because it is a few more young people, when the bbc comes that this very difficult negotiation with the government and the government says, you're a young people, having this linear station is on offer for young people which is on offer for young people which is getting an audience will be handy. is getting an audience will be hand . , .,, ., is getting an audience will be hand . , ., handy. there will be those who say that the bbc _ handy. there will be those who say that the bbc has _ handy. there will be those who say that the bbc has quite _ handy. there will be those who say that the bbc has quite a _ handy. there will be those who say that the bbc has quite a few - handy. there will be those who say that the bbc has quite a few charts and critically repeats on them, why put a new channel on their space and channels you have already got? repeats become a problem for people during the pandemic where production is harder, i think the argument for bbc three would be that other channels don't. it is true, if you watch bbc three distally at the moment, describe any particular flavour, it has been a huge creative and commercial success, and the idea that there would be room on bbc one or bbc two for the sorts of things that bbc three is pumping out, so happy linear channel, have a linear platform for these mega hits, and be able to see to ofcom and the government that the bbc is a clear and coherent offer to young people who are otherwise turning elsewhere. the bbc is about to announce further considerable cuts, what does a new channel because it put on air like this and a lot of people are going to see it didn't work once, it didn't work when they put on bbc one after the ten o'clock news, why do you think it is going to work now? the bbc will have an internal figure for the estimate of how much is going to cost and how much they expect to spend on the project. they haven't given that to me, i am chasing that, when i get i will give it to you, simon. the amount that bbc three will cost will depend on how much they spent on the channel a whole. last year they doubled the budget for bbc three, costing several million pounds, putting it on bbc three as a linear channel cost a bit more, but not a huge amount. the calculation is that that costis amount. the calculation is that that cost is justified at a time when the bbc does have a problem connecting with young people. bbc bbc one, bbc two are all channels that are in the awful industryjargon, super serving awful industry jargon, super serving audiences. awful industryjargon, super serving audiences. those people are watching bbc one and bbc two are getting lots more what they want. there is a problem that the bbc has, not because of his editorial decisions, but because of the internet, because of the structural change in our industry, there is a problem the bbc has with younger audiences, the bbc really needs those people to pay for a licence fee. if bbc three is a clear greed and opportunity will come and bbc�*s alkylation is a pure years from now the bees people will pay for a licence fee and the a congregation in herefordshire have been shocked to discover a fairly ordinary—looking painting of the last supper in their church is actually a long—lost masterpiece. sian lloyd has been to see it. an imposing painting of the last supper. it has hung in this parish church since the beginning of the last century. gifted by a localfamily, who brought it back from a visit to italy. never had it been supposed that the 12.5 foot artwork would be an original. but it had not always looked like this. two years ago, extensive renovation work was commissioned, and more of the picture was revealed. it had, over the centuries, got very dark. it was brown and sludgy, and didn't look at all inspiring. and then it was restored and we see what we have now. and it is a joy and a delight. the restoration was carried out by art historian ronald moore, in his studio on the welsh english border. he was inspired to delve further. 11,000 hours of research, in fact, in which he uncovered its history. examination under ultraviolet light revealed the inscribed name of titian, one of the 16th century's greatest masters, and he's convinced the artwork was created by painters from the titian workshop, a common practice of the time. there is sufficient evidence, not just with the signature, but many, many facets, all come together to show that this is indeed a titian workshop picture. we've got a lot of evidence to indicate that. it's extremely important in that there is no titian workshop picture on this scale which has been undiscovered for such a long period of time. he believes that the apostle wearing the golden robe is titian as a young man. the most likely painter of this figure, he believes, was titian's son. the value of the artwork can only be guessed at. a titian workshop painting last sold for more than £7 million. but at the parish church where it hangs in ledbury, its worth is not measured by its monetary value, but by the joy it brings to the congregation. they say it will be displayed here for years to come. sian lloyd, bbc news, ledbury. as the pandemic has left millions of people at a career crossroads, bbc news is looking at the current jobs market to coincide with national careers week and we'll be answering your questions and getting advice from the experts on graduate opportunities, unemployment and how to re—train mid—career. we'rejoined now by kite oniwinde, founder and ceo of the black young professionals network and jack parsons, from the youth group. thank you both very much forjoining us. a lot of questions coming in. kite, i'm going to start with this one for you. chris corcoran — "�*did you always have your business model set in stone or did you develop it as it grew? — if the latter, what influenced your direction the most? i developed it as it grew. you start where you are, so i did a lot of research, and it was all about community first, so i wanted to connect black professionals in the uk and around the world to each other, so they can meet like—minded individuals, but what then happened as we had a lot of employers contacting us and saying that they would love to tap into the talent pool would love to tap into the talent pool, how can they get involved, business model naturally involved to incorporate our employers, so we have focused on growing our employers and member since then. hagar employers and member since then. how bus is the employers and member since then. how busy is the potato pandemic been for you? it busy is the potato pandemic been for ou? ., , busy is the potato pandemic been for ou? , , busy is the potato pandemic been for ou? . , , , , _ you? it has been extremely busy, eseciall you? it has been extremely busy, especially after _ you? it has been extremely busy, especially after george _ you? it has been extremely busy, especially after george floyd - you? it has been extremely busy, especially after george floyd last| especially after george floyd last year we have had an influx of working with the network, and diversity and inclusion very much on the table, but we have been around forfour the table, but we have been around for four years, the table, but we have been around forfour years, so the table, but we have been around for four years, so this was before then, and i need that i saw from my own background of the kind of doing finance and banking, and realising that there is not enough black people in the room, essentially. now that the tide is starting to move, a lot more employers across different industries are interested in connecting with back talent. it is really encouraging to hear that. jack, i want to bring you in. mary rose rolfe — asks "�*do you think finding work in the pandemic is a minefield?" what are the particular issues the pandemic is thrown out?- what are the particular issues the pandemic is thrown out? there is a number of — pandemic is thrown out? there is a number of issues. _ pandemic is thrown out? there is a number of issues. it _ pandemic is thrown out? there is a number of issues. it is _ pandemic is thrown out? there is a number of issues. it is the - number of issues. it is the landscaping nightmare, it all starts or navigation, which is the door? there _ or navigation, which is the door? there is— or navigation, which is the door? there is some great opportunities out there. — there is some great opportunities out there, but how do young people really _ out there, but how do young people really access them? that is the big question— really access them? that is the big question that young people have on their mind — question that young people have on their mind at the moment, how do i access_ their mind at the moment, how do i access these — their mind at the moment, how do i access these opportunities? where are they? — access these opportunities? where are they? who is offering them? the issue _ are they? who is offering them? the issue you _ are they? who is offering them? the issue you have got is that young people — issue you have got is that young people can see the company's culture any more. _ people can see the company's culture any more, they are working from home: _ any more, they are working from home, does— any more, they are working from home, does the young person have a safe space? — home, does the young person have a safe space? if you are from bame community— safe space? if you are from bame community are disadvantaged background, agrippina and a council estate _ background, agrippina and a council estate and _ background, agrippina and a council estate and didn't have good intranet or a laptop. — estate and didn't have good intranet or a laptop, there estate and didn't have good intranet ora laptop, there is estate and didn't have good intranet or a laptop, there is no way i would have _ or a laptop, there is no way i would have been— or a laptop, there is no way i would have been able to apply for a job incident — have been able to apply for a job incident have an internet connection, so the landscape is shifted, — connection, so the landscape is shifted, howeverwe must connection, so the landscape is shifted, however we must look at the positives, _ shifted, however we must look at the positives, and the positives are that anywhere, wherever you are, you can be _ that anywhere, wherever you are, you can be a _ that anywhere, wherever you are, you can be a national citizen, you can be based — can be a national citizen, you can be based in — can be a national citizen, you can be based in newcastle and you can apply— be based in newcastle and you can apply for— be based in newcastle and you can apply for a — be based in newcastle and you can apply for a work experience opportunity or internship in london and do _ opportunity or internship in london and do it— opportunity or internship in london and do it from where you are at home — and do it from where you are at home is— and do it from where you are at home. , . . , , ., home. is already well, but i hear from lots of _ home. is already well, but i hear from lots of younger _ home. is already well, but i hear from lots of younger people - home. is already well, but i hear - from lots of younger people applying for work in the most difficult of circumstances and their biggest frustration is they don't even get a reply. frustration is they don't even get a re -l . �* , frustration is they don't even get a rel . �* , ., �* ., , frustration is they don't even get a rel. ., ,, reply. and they don't, and this is one that needs _ reply. and they don't, and this is one that needs to _ reply. and they don't, and this is one that needs to change. - reply. and they don't, and this is. one that needs to change. carpets and companies need to invest in giving _ and companies need to invest in giving feedback, because how is the young _ giving feedback, because how is the young person going to grow? —— incorporates and companies. there's a years. _ incorporates and companies. there's a years, when you're too close to the elephant all you can can see is grey. _ the elephant all you can can see is grey. and — the elephant all you can can see is grey, and you need some help to step away from _ grey, and you need some help to step away from that and employers and to step up— away from that and employers and to step up and _ away from that and employers and to step up and give feedback. i totally agree _ step up and give feedback. i totally agree with young people, how do you know your— agree with young people, how do you know your cv is right if you're not given— know your cv is right if you're not given the — know your cv is right if you're not given the opportunity with some feedback? zakarya mohammed — what are your views on the best way a recent graduate should approach their dream company for a job that may not be advertised? the thing you need to know is know is there, i ., ., , , ., is there, i one of the benefits of our network _ is there, i one of the benefits of our network as _ is there, i one of the benefits of our network as we _ is there, i one of the benefits of our network as we connect - is there, i one of the benefits of- our network as we connect members, webinars, a summit with digital skills, these employers want to talk directly to the talent. you have to speak to them first before you apply for a job, whether that is reaching out and for a job, whether that is reaching outand linkedin, tending our webinars, understanding what the is in that company and what the culture is like and why you should apply. we always say that for the companies, you need to tell those applying why they must apply for your role, they are the talented ones, ray? there are the talented ones, ray? there are loads of opportunities, some of our partners to apprenticeships... facebook, for example, they are doing in production engineering programme. any background can apply. i am also a london tech ambassador. there is a site with over 12,000 courses for young people to up skill, making sure you are relevant on your cv is up today. ant stone — do you believe the age of the job application — the cv and formal interview — is still relevant — or is there a better way? the cv is still important and so is a cover letter. a lot of applicants get it wrong by sending generic cover letters to different co m pa n i es, cover letters to different companies, they see through that and want to know why you want to work for them. want to know why you want to work forthem. if want to know why you want to work for them. if you can replace their name with any other company name, you won't get a response because they realise they are one of many. if you tailor your cover letter so you're able to see you in china when they host, you met this person that they host, you met this person that the firm, you want to work for them because of the company culture you saw at the webinar, you're much more likely to get a response. i always say, try and get a referral. if you reach out online on linkedin and someone kind of says, yeah, i know that person, that actually helps you. sadly 75% ofjobs are from referrals. networking is really key in this job market. mrs bond — what advice can you offer to a second year student struggling to find a placement for his sandwich year, his third year, due to begin this year? the lack of places, advice, response from employers is adding weight to an already stressful time and he faces missing out on his year in industry altogether. that is replicated in a number of questions we have had to stop it is and i questions we have had to stop it is and i would _ questions we have had to stop it is and i would firstly see rep at the cv and _ and i would firstly see rep at the cv and don't send it then, because you have _ cv and don't send it then, because you have to— cv and don't send it then, because you have to be different. we worked with capita _ you have to be different. we worked with capita and capita has hired 100 young _ with capita and capita has hired 100 young people recently in the pandemic without any cv, so how can you be _ pandemic without any cv, so how can you be different? yes, you have to respect _ you be different? yes, you have to respect the — you be different? yes, you have to respect the application process and what the _ respect the application process and what the company wants, but i would say to _ what the company wants, but i would say to that _ what the company wants, but i would say to that young person, don't bother— say to that young person, don't bother with your cv, rip it up, put a cover— bother with your cv, rip it up, put a cover letter in but do it meaningfully.— a cover letter in but do it meaningfully. a cover letter in but do it meaninufull . , meaningfully. kite esther said the o- osite. i meaningfully. kite esther said the opposite. i don't _ meaningfully. kite esther said the opposite. i don't agree, _ meaningfully. kite esther said the opposite. i don't agree, you - meaningfully. kite esther said the opposite. i don't agree, you need| meaningfully. kite esther said the l opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv. we opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv- we have _ opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv- we have a _ opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv. we have a community - opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv. we have a community of - opposite. i don't agree, you need a cv. we have a community of1.7- cv. we have a community of1.7 million young — cv. we have a community of1.7 million young people, _ cv. we have a community of1.7 million young people, we - cv. we have a community of1.7 million young people, we say i cv. we have a community of1.7 million young people, we say a | cv. we have a community of1.7- million young people, we say a large corpus. _ million young people, we say a large corpus. let's— million young people, we say a large corpus, let's look at the talent and the personality. you don't need the cv. the personality. you don't need the w the _ the personality. you don't need the cv. the young person doesn't have anything _ cv. the young person doesn't have anything to— cv. the young person doesn't have anything to showcase on the cv. jack. _ anything to showcase on the cv. jack. you — anything to showcase on the cv. jack, you have to get into the room in the first place for people to see you, how do you make that step particularly if you have just wrapped up your cv? particularly if you have 'ust wraueud- ourcv? ., , wrapped up your cv? young people can aet into the wrapped up your cv? young people can get into the room _ wrapped up your cv? young people can get into the room by _ wrapped up your cv? young people can get into the room by working _ wrapped up your cv? young people can get into the room by working with - get into the room by working with great _ get into the room by working with great networks and organisations, the princes trust, the ymca, there's different— the princes trust, the ymca, there's different processes, the world is changing. — different processes, the world is changing, and i'm not saying don't create _ changing, and i'm not saying don't create a _ changing, and i'm not saying don't create a cv. — changing, and i'm not saying don't create a cv, i am saying be a bit different — create a cv, ! am saying be a bit different if— create a cv, i am saying be a bit different. if the application process— different. if the application process wanted to put in a cv, put one end. — process wanted to put in a cv, put one end. but — process wanted to put in a cv, put one end, but what i'm saying is we must _ one end, but what i'm saying is we must do _ one end, but what i'm saying is we must do things differently. when hiring _ must do things differently. when hiring 100 young people are capita, they didn't — hiring 100 young people are capita, they didn't ask for a cv. there is a number— they didn't ask for a cv. there is a number of— they didn't ask for a cv. there is a number of carpetsjumping on they didn't ask for a cv. there is a number of carpets jumping on that saying _ number of carpets jumping on that saying i_ number of carpets jumping on that saying i would rather see who you are as _ saying i would rather see who you are as an— saying i would rather see who you are as an individual and i would love _ are as an individual and i would love to — are as an individual and i would love to see _ are as an individual and i would love to see you showcase yourself —— incorporates — love to see you showcase yourself —— incorporates. yes some organisations want a _ incorporates. yes some organisations want a cv. _ incorporates. yes some organisations want a cv, but i'm a big believer that with — want a cv, but i'm a big believer that with the many people we are put into work. _ that with the many people we are put into work, not one of them had to put a _ into work, not one of them had to put a cv— into work, not one of them had to put a cv and _ into work, not one of them had to put a cv and-— put a cv and. watch is the most innovative _ put a cv and. watch is the most innovative think _ put a cv and. watch is the most innovative think you _ put a cv and. watch is the most innovative think you have - put a cv and. watch is the most innovative think you have heard | put a cv and. watch is the most l innovative think you have heard of someone do to get thatjob? i innovative think you have heard of someone do to get that job? someone do to get that “ob? i think ou can someone do to get that “ob? i think you can do — someone do to get that “ob? i think you can do a — someone do to get that “ob? i think you can do a number_ someone do to get that “ob? i think you can do a number of- someone do to get that job? i think you can do a number of things, - someone do to get that job? i think. you can do a number of things, there are some _ you can do a number of things, there are some quirky things that happen out there _ are some quirky things that happen out there were some ridicule tech start-ups — out there were some ridicule tech start—ups. that all you need to do is flip— start—ups. that all you need to do is flip that — start—ups. that all you need to do is flip that duvet and show what you are the _ is flip that duvet and show what you are the right person for the job. pretty— are the right person for the job. pretty video showcase and, reach out to someone — pretty video showcase and, reach out to someone. a lot of young people go and have _ to someone. a lot of young people go and have a _ to someone. a lot of young people go and have a mentoring session with someone — and have a mentoring session with someone who works for the organisation, so if you can't get in through— organisation, so if you can't get in through the — organisation, so if you can't get in through the recruitment team, go and have a _ through the recruitment team, go and have a mentoring session, as someone. _ have a mentoring session, as someone, what it's like to work here and how— someone, what it's like to work here and how do— someone, what it's like to work here and how do i— someone, what it's like to work here and how do i get to your organisation? how do i come and work there? _ organisation? how do i come and work there? reach— organisation? how do i come and work there? reach out and ask the questions. reach out to people already— questions. reach out to people already in— questions. reach out to people already in the network, already in the door— already in the network, already in the door and that is how you get into the — the door and that is how you get into the doorway. like the lady said before. _ into the doorway. like the lady said before, referrals are so important. kite. _ before, referrals are so important. kite. would — before, referrals are so important. kite, would you give jackjob zhuhai yeah, i have metjack before. hand i yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give — yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite _ yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite a _ yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite a job _ yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite a job as _ yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite a job as well, - yeah, i have met jack before. and i would give kite a job as well, she is a superstar. let's cross to stormont where the deputy first minister michelle o'neill is giving an update on northern ireland's pathway to recovery. i think as we all know this year we will turn a corner in the pandemic, but there is much more to do we are not out of the woodshed. for some, that she has been the most difficult year they have experience. it was a sad milestone last week when we reach the first anniversary our first covid case here. we have sadly lost over 2000 of our fellow citizens, and over 1112, or 112,000 of the people have also tested positive. it is however time the future, to look for the future with hope and the conditions for doing that are starting to emerge. the vaccines programme is a foundation blog for building forward towards a recovery. the vaccine programme cannot take the heavy lifting on its own. especially not this time and the restrictions will be effective unfortunately in some time for some time yet. we are incredibly proud of the vaccine because my work. our citizens are responding exceptionally well to the offers of taking the job. exceptionally well to the offers of taking thejob. as of exceptionally well to the offers of taking the job. as of the 28th of debris, there have been 550 8000, 597 vaccine doses administered here. this is made up of... we also need to see good adherence to the current restrictions and we are very grateful for that. the art number has reduced to between 0.8 and 0.5. we believe there is the time to look forward any hopeful ways, recognising that there is still a huge risk around over 19, especially for the potential of new variants. we cannot afford to let the numbers go back up to the primary health services over stretched again. our colleagues, friends and family who provides social care services deserve our respect. we don't want to be in a cycle of opening and closing his sections of business and society. we must do everything we can to make this when the last lockdown. with the underpinning insurance policy, this executive will take the steps needed to protect the health service. taking all these factors together, we can take some tentative preparatory steps towards a lifting of restrictions, but great care is still required. that is why the executive has agreed today to take a careful, cautious and hopeful approach to existing restrictions. we will be publishing that later today for everyone to see. we want today for everyone to see. we want to outline our thinking on this assembly first, from the very outset of the pandemic we undertook to keep colleagues up today on nor in their decisions but our rationales, and we are glad to do so again today. the executive's approach will be a cautious one. we developed a pathway out of restrictions which bills sometime between key steps and relaxations. this leaves times for decisions to be properly informed by the health community and economic data coming to see the real—time impact of the problems of the virus. that time will be used carefully to look at the results of the modelling and to assess if it is safe to take the next step. the sea rest bay strategy and one which we hope will be understood in the current covid—19 context. our aim is to find a safe, secure, sustainable and understandable way forward for citizens, sectors and businesses. we will be hopeful, we will be optimistic and realistic in our pathway. we recognise that our citizens need the hope, and that they understand we need to move carefully through the coming months. hope and care are equally important, and that requires a balanced approach. ourapproach and that requires a balanced approach. our approach is built of some core considerations, and we will set those out now. first and foremost, ourapproach will set those out now. first and foremost, our approach is risk—based. they will be driven by health, community and economic data and analysis. we will not be driven by hard dates was that we recognise that everyone will be looking for certainty, but we do not want to set potentially unachievable dates that will only disappoint. our commitment is that we will keep restrictions in place only as long as is needed, and as and when we build headroom to open a sector, we will most certainly take the opportunity. second, we will continue to be open and transparent in our decision—making. we will keep everyone up today and we will explain our thinking. keeping restrictions in place will only be done if that is necessary and proportionate to the threat that we face from covid—19. third, we will continue to look holistically at the challenges we face. while the focus todayis challenges we face. while the focus today is on the pathway out of restrictions, we are also working on our building forward recovery strategy. this is where we will draw together the key interventions and actions are needed to jump—start economic and societal recovery. we arejoining up the economic and societal recovery. we are joining up the collective effort through the executive's covid—19 task force, and alongside the recovery work strings, we are building an increased focus on adherence and communications. finally, while we set our own course, we do not operate any vacuum. we work closely with other jurisdictions, with the irish government, we work closely with other administrations and the spaces too, and we are willing to learn what works best from elsewhere and willing to share expenses here. our pathway includes conditions outlined by the world health organization. the executive will of course take their own decisions, and we have set our own pathway on the basis of which those decisions will be reached. evidence base, necessity, proportionality, and sustainability will be key to all decisions. and we will be key to all decisions. and we will be key to all decisions. and we will be driven by health, economic and societal impacts and we will be informed by key datasets in those sectors. we will work towards the careful reopening of the nine sectors which are vitally important for our citizens and their families. these are at home and community, education and young people, worship and ceremonies, sports and leisure activities, work, retail, hospitality, travel and tourism and culture, heritage and entertainment. the pathway looks at each of these sectors in detail, and it sets out a step—by—step basis, starting with where we are now, and then taking the first cautious steps. gradual easing, fur lifting of restrictions and then preparing for the future. it illustrates our hope and aspirations for the practical real life benefits that this will bring to our citizens. we are very keen that everyone can find some comfort in the document and what we hope it means for them while remaining cautious with our steps that we need to walk through. in line with our commitments on transparency of the pathway also explains how we take our decisions and the process. it sets out the pathway in the context of our plans for recovery. the pathway does not seek to take us back to where we were before the pandemic and it recognises that there will be some adaptations in our lives. that will be the case across a number of sectors for some time to come, and the executive is, however, committed to getting education back as quickly as possible for the sake of children and young people, for their education and their well—being and future aspirations. we will do is this for parents as well and in partnership with our colleagues in the education system who are working so hard to adapt to the current pressures. it is vitally important that all of this is grounded in the reality of the pandemic. covid—19 continues to impact every aspect of our lives and the new variants are a sharp reminder of the need for care, and our health responses have developed considerably over the last 12 months we have a debt of gratitude to everyone in the health and care sector. —— and we have. the row everyone plays the she will be important and that includes sticking to the public health basics —— the role everyone plays. washing our hands, keeping a safe distance from others, wearing face coverings and reducing social contact as much as possible, and this makes a real difference and we can't let those good habits go. adhering to the remaining restrictions and engaging with our communications have played a key role in getting us to this point where we can start to think about lifting the restrictions. i want to say thank you to everyone for all of this. there are a new variants and that needs to be guarded against and that is part of the reason why travelling so limited and we ask for patience and understanding on that point. covid—19 is a successful virus because of its ability to transmit between so easily. the new variants are even more so and so the stay at home message remains important today. we know and understand that people go out for essential reasons like shopping and exercise and fought necessities and well—being, but we are concerned about crowded places even outside, so we continue to ask everyone to take great care and to think about the risks. that is why we have set out clearly in the pathway the approach we are taking to decision—making for everyone to see. each week departments will meet as a collective to discuss the available information and to consider which steps can be proposed to the executive. after each step we take we will pause and reflect and look at the data and the impacts and engage with the key sectors and enable them to reopen only if it's the right thing to do. that gives everyone the best chance of achieving sustainable steps and to avoid another lockdown. we publish our documents today and we ask everyone to take the time to read them, to digest them and to think about the need for caution in our approach, to continue to follow the public health advice, and most certainly to take the vaccine whenever it is offered. we all have hope for this year and together we will get through this.— will get through this. studio: deu will get through this. studio: deputy first — will get through this. studio: deputy first minister- will get through this. studio: deputy first minister michelle o'neill outlining what are described as tentative steps towards the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in northern ireland, sang huge risks remain, great care is still needed —— saying. she says the executive has agreed a cautious but hopeful approach to existing restrictions. we will have more on that throughout the afternoon. we have the latest uk figures. in terms of deaths and cases. 6391 cases in the last 24—hour period which is down 33% if we compare it to last tuesday which was 8500, so down 33% in terms of cases. deaths also down, they were 343 deaths within 28 days of a positive covid test so that is down 60% if we compare it to last tuesday when it was 548 deaths. also, the number of vaccinations has now hit almost 20.5 million. 20,478,619 first dose vaccinations have been administered in the latest update of the uk vaccine roll—out. now to scotland. the next stage of a phased return to schools in scotland is to get underway later this month. children in primary years p1 to p3 are already back at school. this afternoon first minister nicola sturgeon set out the next steps to the scottish parliament. the next phase of reopening education will take place on the 15th of march and i can confirm that from that date, unless new evidence and new circumstances force us to reconsider which we hope will not be the case, all children in primary 4—7 will go back to school on a full—time basis. all primary schoolchildren will also be able to return to regulated child care including after—school and breakfast clubs. we will also take the next steps in a phased return to secondary schools from the 15th of march with a clear expectation that all school pupils, secondary school pupils will be back in school on a full—time basis following the easter holidays. but it is the intention that all secondary school pupils will return to spend some time in school from the 15th of march until the easter break. students in the senior phase of secondary school, years 4—6, who are taking national qualifications, they will have priority for face—to—face lessons in school and this will make sure they can have their hard work fairly recognised with qualifications under the alternative certification model. and although years 4—6 might have priority, we expect that all children in secondary school will receive some in—school education each week until the break and then return full—time following that. this will allow pupils to get used to being back in school and allow them to start seeing friends again and i'm sure everyone will agree that this is important for the well—being of young people as well as for education. nicola sturgeon there. we can now get some reaction. we can speak now tojim thewliss, who's a former head teacher and the general secretary of school leaders scotland, which represents around 75% of secondary school head teachers in scotland. what is your reaction? we have alwa s what is your reaction? we have always supported _ what is your reaction? we have always supported getting - what is your reaction? we have j always supported getting young people back to school as quickly as we could possibly get it within the context of being safe but also within the context of a planned return to school and a sustainable return to school and a sustainable return and a return which promotes equity or provision of learning. the move back of some of senior phase youngsters over the last three weeks, we have supported this, we are looking forward to getting the remainder of senior phase back on the 15th of march. the announcement of a more broad general education youngsters coming back between then and easter was a bit of a surprise to us today and that will present us with a logistical challenge to work out exactly how to accommodate that, given the architecture of schools and given the demands which are already on its course.— and given the demands which are already on its course. roughly you think the timetable _ already on its course. roughly you think the timetable the _ already on its course. roughly you think the timetable the first - think the timetable the first minister has announced is roughly right? minister has announced is roughly rioht? . , ., ., ., right? certainly in relation to brinoain right? certainly in relation to bringing the _ right? certainly in relation to bringing the remainder - right? certainly in relation to bringing the remainder of. right? certainly in relation to i bringing the remainder of senior phase youngsters back into school and that gives us the opportunity to engage with them and gathering the evidence that is required for the national qualification framework. we would want to see more detail in relation to the expectation in relation to the expectation in relation to the expectation in relation to youngsters who are in general education because it is not a straightforward matter of bringing them back into school, in that the blended learning model which exists as of last august and it is difficult to ramp that back—up and start that again within a two—week period, so there is a significant logistical exercise for schools across the country in relation to that. ie. across the country in relation to that. . across the country in relation to that. , ., , ., ., 4' that. is there more you would like to see from _ that. is there more you would like to see from the _ that. is there more you would like to see from the authorities - that. is there more you would like to see from the authorities in - that. is there more you would like i to see from the authorities in terms of testing and also vaccination of teachers? . of testing and also vaccination of teachers? , , ., ., teachers? the testing programme in scotland has — teachers? the testing programme in scotland has been _ teachers? the testing programme in scotland has been established - teachers? the testing programme in scotland has been established and l teachers? the testing programme in scotland has been established and it seems to be working very well. certainly, no great concerns coming from our members in relation to the way in which that has been taking forward and it would seem reasonable to suggest that the return of more senior youngsters to school is a matter of scaling up that exercise. we have always pressed for the notion of teachers to enter into the vaccination programme and we understand the protocols which are there in the national and international guidance which has been forward, but it would certainly engender a deal of confidence into the teaching profession if teachers were vaccinated sooner rather than later. . . . were vaccinated sooner rather than later. . , . , , ._ later. there was evidence yesterday in terms of — later. there was evidence yesterday in terms of teachers _ later. there was evidence yesterday in terms of teachers in _ later. there was evidence yesterday in terms of teachers in england, - in terms of teachers in england, data which showed they are not any more at risk or any more vulnerable than any other working adults. that data is a matter _ than any other working adults. that data is a matter of _ than any other working adults. that data is a matter of engendering confidence into the system which at the moment is lacking. —— that data is there but at the moment it is a matter of engendering confidence. jim, thanks forjoining us. we can go back to northern ireland. the phased plan that's just been announced for taking the country out of lockdown. our correspondent chris page is in belfast. what are the key points? michelle o'neill, what are the key points? michelle o'neill. the _ what are the key points? michelle o'neill, the deputy _ what are the key points? michelle o'neill, the deputy first - what are the key points? michelle o'neill, the deputy first minister, still on herfeet, speaking on behalf of the devolved government, which has just published this document, the northern ireland exit plan. the basics of it, nine areas of business and life in general in northern ireland, everything from travel and tourism to hospitality and education, to a home and community, and each of those nine areas has five steps attached. something that a number of business groups have been critical already of the executive for is the fact the plan does not include any dates for reopening. michelle o'neill defended that and she said basically that the northern ireland executive did not want to commit to a firm reopening date which was in her words potentially unachievable because that would lead to disappointment. what is in the exit strategy is several dates over the next few months when the restrictions will be formally reviewed, so the first one is in the middle of this month and then another one in the middle of april, and another in the middle of may, and then the last one mentioned is on the 10th ofjune. so while the first and deputy ministers arlene foster and michelle o'neill are stressing that we should not read into those dates as dates when restrictions will be lifted, when northern ireland will be moving through the phases, it is fair enough to read the fact that the last eight mention is the 10th of june, as some sort of suggestion that ministers expect there will be significant progress to the stages by that point. significant progress to the stages by that point-— by that point. chris, thanks for “oinino by that point. chris, thanks for joining us _ latest data seems to show the battle against coronavirus is being won. the number of weekly registered coronavirus deaths in england and wales has fallen by more than a quarter in a week — to the lowest level since the year began. the figures, from the office for national statistics, suggest the latest national lockdown and the vaccine rollout are working. there's good news too on hospital admissions — down by 80% for those aged over 80 who've received a single dose of vaccine. the results have been described by the head of the oxford vaccine project as "stunning". our health correspondent anna collinson reports. more than a third of adults in the uk have now had theirfirst coronavirus vaccine. widely hailed a success, the roll—out has received a further boost after real—world data suggests one dose of either the oxford or the pfizerjab cuts the risk of serious illness by 80% in the over 80s. this data comes from the hardest group to protect, those who are the most frail, the oldest adults in our population. and we are seeing an 80% reduction in hospitalisation in that group, which is stunning. there are now clear signs the epidemic is moving in the right direction and the vaccine roll—out is working. new data shows covid deaths are continuing to fall, with 4,447 registered in the uk in the week to the 19th of february — that is down byjust over a quarter on the previous week. the number of people who've developed immunity also appears to be rising. latest figures estimate one in four people have coronavirus antibodies in england. in wales and northern ireland it's thought to be one in six and in scotland one in eight. but there are concerns that the vaccine is not working as well against some emerging variants, particularly one which was first detected here in manaus injanuary. six cases of the so—called brazil variant have been identified in the uk. while the hunt goes on to locate other potential cases, epidemiologists say they are more concerned about studying how the virus�*s genes are changing. the uk is leading the way in terms of molecular surveillance of the virus, but we are still only genotyping about 25% of cases. if we could really bring down the number of cases much lower, we could be genotyping every case and we could be much more confident about new variants arising and our vaccine strategy. the government is promising brighter days ahead, but for now, the advice is to remain vigilant. anna collinson, bbc news. with me now is dr emma davis, she is a postdoctoral researcher in infectious disease epidemiology working at the big data institute at oxford university. she's also a member of scientific pandemic influenza group on modelling — but speaks to us in a personal capacity today. just broadly, looking at all that data, it is all moving in the right direction, isn't it?— direction, isn't it? thank you for havin: direction, isn't it? thank you for having me _ direction, isn't it? thank you for having me on — direction, isn't it? thank you for having me on today. _ direction, isn't it? thank you for having me on today. yes, - direction, isn't it? thank you for having me on today. yes, it - direction, isn't it? thank you for i having me on today. yes, it seems so, as mentioned already, we have seen cases in hospitalisations and deaths all decreasing and the number that we have heard, one in four people in england currently having antibodies which was estimated, the level of antibodies is much higher in the vaccinated age group. so deaths are halving every week in those vaccinated age groups which is very promising. those vaccinated age groups which is very promising-— very promising. those figures on hos - ital very promising. those figures on hospital admissions _ very promising. those figures on hospital admissions down - very promising. those figures on hospital admissions down by - very promising. those figures on | hospital admissions down by 80% very promising. those figures on - hospital admissions down by 80% for those aged over 80 who have had a first dose of the vaccine and it was described as a stunning comics that how you would see it, that is beyond your expectations? —— described as stunning comics that how you see it. yes, it is. but it is important to repeat that we should not get complacent just repeat that we should not get complacentjust because cases and deaths are dropping, because it is too important, there are many people still infected and they are still people dying. the message i would give people at the moment is that the better we follow the rules, the faster cases will drop, and the faster cases will drop, and the faster we can get back to normal. hf faster we can get back to normal. if cases and deaths dropped more quickly perhaps then we were anticipating, that is an if, would that be a case for may be easing restrictions a bit faster than the prime minister had outlined with his road map? the prime minister had outlined with his road ma - ? . prime minister had outlined with his road ma? . ., , prime minister had outlined with his road ma? . .,, road map? the current road map as we see it i road map? the current road map as we see it i think— road map? the current road map as we see it i think is— road map? the current road map as we see it i think is feasible, _ see it i think is feasible, especially if there is not any new surprises and if people follow the rules, but i'm not sure how much scope there would be for making that much faster, but certainly by following the rules we can stop the road map from being slowed down. focusing on the vaccines in particular, the oxford one was greeted with some scepticism in some european countries and as a result the scepticism by political leaders in a particular, like emmanuel macron in france, who said it was was ineffective in older people, that has led to a lot of people in european countries not having that particular vaccine, european countries not having that particularvaccine, but european countries not having that particular vaccine, but now the data is suggesting that contrary to what they have said, it really is not just quite effective but extremely effective, especially in older people. effective, especially in older --eole. . . effective, especially in older heo hle. , ., , effective, especially in older --eole. , q people. yes, that is the case. as the evidence _ people. yes, that is the case. as the evidence base _ people. yes, that is the case. as the evidence base grows - people. yes, that is the case. as the evidence base grows it - people. yes, that is the case. as| the evidence base grows it shows people. yes, that is the case. as - the evidence base grows it shows the vaccines we have are effective and that they will have a substantial impact on transmission.- that they will have a substantial impact on transmission. great to talk to you- _ impact on transmission. great to talk to you- dr — impact on transmission. great to talk to you. dr davis, _ impact on transmission. great to talk to you. dr davis, thanks - impact on transmission. great to talk to you. dr davis, thanks for| talk to you. dr davis, thanks for joining us. borisjohnson and rishi sunak say they want tomorrow's budget to "unleash growth". the prime minister's press secretary told reporters that the budget would be about business growth and supporting jobs. earlier, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng has all but confirmed that the furlough scheme will be extended untiljune. it's also being reported that there'll be extra support for the badly—hit culture sector. £408 million will help museums, theatres and galleries in england to reopen once restrictions start to ease. there'll be a £150 million fund to help communities to take over local pubs. £300 million will go to sport, with what's being called a "significant chunk" being given to cricket. and an extra £77 million will be given to the devolved administrations in scotland, wales and northern ireland to provide their culture groups with similar backing. andy verity has this report. remember this? the atmosphere of a busy pub. but after a covid christmas and no punters for months on end, pubs are in deep financial trouble and unlikely to be back to normal business when the furlough scheme was scheduled to stop at the end of april. today, the business secretary kwasi kwarteng confirmed it would be extended beyond that. a key budget announcement affecting 4.7 million people put out a day before the budget. can you tell us, are you looking at extending furlough and when might that be until? i think the chancellor has already indicated that we will be extending furlough, i think that's been part of a public announcement. i think there will be other measures that we will see tomorrow. for now, what we have to do is to support businesses, individuals and families through what has been an extremely difficult time. the government has also announced a £150 million fund to help communities take over stricken pubs. there will also be £300 million to help sports venues recover, such as cricket clubs, and 408 million for museums, theatres and galleries. pub owners say to stay afloat this year, they will need more help on top of the furlough scheme. we're paying 100% rent. even though our rent has been deferred, when we go to open up, with restrictions, our rent is going to be higher because they are going to be clawing back the rent that's been deferred on top. it's a lot of rent to find when your doors have been closed for a long period of time. so far this financial year rishi sunak has spent £271 billion more than the government's income from taxes, nearly twice the deficit after the financial crisis. senior politicians across parties are calling for that to be dealt with by tax rises, with few calls so far for spending cuts. but timing is crucial. if the government raises taxes or withdraws support from businesses too soon it could stifle any economic recovery. the chancellor's critics say he must now help millions of small business owners and self—employed workers who struggled for a year without a penny from either the furlough scheme or self—employed income support, when they could be contributing to a recovery. i'm extremely worried that there are thousands of small businesses and self—employed people who are teetering on the brink and we could see an avalanche of redundancies if we don't have really ambitious action. so, the liberal democrats are calling for a budget that is targeted on small businesses, on the high street, cafe owners, hairdressers, bricklayers, those sorts of people, some of whom have had no help during the pandemic. at least one big question remains unanswered ahead of tomorrow — how big are rishi sunak�*s plans to stimulate the economy? in the united states, the biden administration is planning to spend unprecedented sums creating newjobs to get the economy going again. so far, the uk government's plans are on a far smaller scale. andy verity, bbc news. the energy regulator, ofgem, says that more than a million people were overcharged by energy firms during the process of switching suppliers. when a customer decides to switch, the rules state they should be protected from price rises while moving. 18 companies will now have to refund the money they'd overcharged. anna rossington is the director of retail at ofgem. it is always quite hard work to get people to look at switching suppliers anyway and this might put people off butjust describe exactly what happened?— people off butjust describe exactly what happened? basically during the time it takes — what happened? basically during the time it takes to _ what happened? basically during the time it takes to switch _ what happened? basically during the time it takes to switch between - what happened? basically during the time it takes to switch between a - time it takes to switch between a supplier or switch your tariff, the supply is meant to keep you on the same price, it must not increase its prices during that period, but what happened in this situation... they increased their prices to the customers, which led to around 1 million customers being charged around £7 million in additional costs. these suppliers have now corrected their systems and have issued both refunds and goodwill payments to the tune of over £10 million. ., . , ., , ., ., million. collectively that is a lot of money. _ million. collectively that is a lot of money. but _ million. collectively that is a lot of money, but between - million. collectively that is a lot of money, but between a - million. collectively that is a lot| of money, but between a million customers, that is a few pounds each. i suppose a lot of people would not have really noticed that. will they automatically get money backin will they automatically get money back in terms of compensation? do they have to apply? it back in terms of compensation? do they have to apply?— back in terms of compensation? do they have to apply? it should happen automatically- _ they have to apply? it should happen automatically. supplies _ they have to apply? it should happen automatically. supplies will - they have to apply? it should happen automatically. supplies will be - automatically. supplies will be refunding this to their customers, but if customers do feel that they may have been due a refund but have not got one, they can contact them and request one. mas not got one, they can contact them and request one.— not got one, they can contact them and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake — and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake on _ and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake on their— and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake on their part? _ and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake on their part? it - and request one. was this deliberate or a mistake on their part? it is - or a mistake on their part? it is ouite a or a mistake on their part? it is quite a difficult _ ora mistake on their part? ut 3 quite a difficult issue to detect and there were a variety of different reasons why they were having these problems or failing to abide by the rules, so it is not the same issue in every situation, but what happened was, as we looked into it further, we found that suppliers, the supply systems were not abiding by the rules. this is a good reminder to suppliers to make sure that they are clear what the licences say and especially if they are updating or changing their systems, to make sure the rules are at the heart of those changes. hagar at the heart of those changes. how do ou at the heart of those changes. how do you stop — at the heart of those changes. how do you stop this — at the heart of those changes. how do you stop this happening again? at the heart of those changes. how i do you stop this happening again? we do you stop this happening again? - are working closely with the suppliers to check that they have amended their systems and we have a variety of different ways of monitoring what they are doing and we will continue to watch them closely. we will continue to watch them closel . ,., ., ., we will continue to watch them closel . ., ., ~ we will continue to watch them closel. ., ., ,, ., we will continue to watch them closel . ., ., ,, ., we will continue to watch them closel. ., ., ,, ., ., closely. good to talk to you. thanks for “oinino closely. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining us _ closely. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining us. that _ closely. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining us. that is _ closely. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining us. that is the _ closely. good to talk to you. thanks forjoining us. that is the interim i forjoining us. that is the interim retail director at ofgem. liverpool football club has said it's deeply saddened by the death of ian stjohn, describing the former player as an anfield legend. he was 82. andy swiss reports. fans chant amid liverpool's stars of the 1960s, few shone as brightly as ian stjohn. when hejoined, the club was languishing in the second division. he scores! but stjohn's goals helped to transform them into the best team in england. under the great bill shankly he won two league titles but perhaps his greatest moment came at wembley in 1965. and it's a goal! that extra time goal took liverpool to their first fa cup and it sealed stjohn's status as a club legend. he also starred for scotland, scoring nine goals for his country and although he retired as a player in 1973, a new career beckoned. he joined forces withjimmy greaves and their tv show saint and greavsie was a huge hit. well, hello and good afternoon. the programme ran for nearly a decade, stjohn winning millions of new fans with his warmth and wit. hello there. well, euro 92 is all over, jim and i are still here in stockholm. can't get a flight home. among the tributes, sir geoff hurst described him as a great footballer who'd been fantastic on saint and greavsie. as the sport remembered both a player and a ground—breaking broadcaster. he was the anchor but he was also the straight man but he also had the jokes as well. people said it wasjust a light—hearted show, as you know, that's sometimes the hardest thing possible to do. he completely changed the way punditry was done in sport. a man, then, whose versatility was matched only by his popularity. both on and off the pitch, one of football's finest. andy swiss, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. we have seen beautiful sunshine over western fringes as you can see from boscastle but there is a lot of cloud and that is lingering close to the north sea coasts and maybe we'll continue like that all day. quite clearly the cloud is spilling in off the north sea on this satellite picture, but there will be more cloud pushing into the evening and overnight and at the same time we have a weak weather front pushing into the far south—west which will bring showers into cornwall and south wales by the end the evening. temperatures are staying at 6—7 and low single figures under the cloud, maybe just below freezing if the cloud continues to be well broken, so tomorrow we can split the country in three sharp showers moving up from the south—west, howard once again lingering along the east coast, sheltered western areas of scotland may be dry and sunny —— cloud once again lingering. temperatures disappointing. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a resuly lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england — according to matt hancock. we have identified the batch of home test kits in question and our search has narrowed from the whole country down to 379 households in the south—east of england and we are contacting each one. nicola sturgeon says the next phase of school returns in scotland will go ahead on march 15 with all pupils back full—time after easter and says her government is considering whether restrictions can be eased more rapidly. tomorrow in the budget we'll hear that furlough will be extended, and a £400 million boost for the culture sector. scotland's top lawyer faces questions about the scottish government's handling of complaints against former first minister alex salmond. sport now. good afternoon. many friends and admirers of liverpool legend ian stjohn have been reflecting on his career, after it was announced he'd died at the age of 82... stjohn first played at motherwell, before signing for liverpool in 1961 — and becoming a key member of bill shankly�*s famous team which transformed the club from a second tier outfit to one of the biggest sides in europe. he was also capped 21 times for scotland. after retiring as a player, he began a successful television career as a pundit, later teaming up withjimmy greaves for the popular saint and greavsie show in the 1980s and 90s. another liverpool legend, sir kenny dalglish, remembers how stjohn lifted the spirits of those around him. he was a funny guy. he loved a chuckle. most of the time he was chuckling, anyway. even when he was on the telly, he would wind greavsy up on the telly, he would wind greavsy up and get a chuckle out of him. he made a fantastic contribution, not just in footballing panels but in the media as well, with broadcasting. that show went on for years and years and everybody loved it. leading trainer gordon elliot says he fears his licence will be taken away, after a picture emerged on social media showing him sitting on a dead horse. he told david jennings of the racing post that his world was crumbling. eliott has apologised, saying it was a "moment of madness" but he's been suspended from racing in great britain until an investigation is concluded. elliott has won the grand national three times — twice with tiger roll — and he's licensed in ireland — but the british horseracing authority said it was appalled. the formula one constructors champion mercedes have unveiled their new car for the season ahead. it carries on the anti—racism black paint theme with an updated flick of silver to represent their traditional colours. world champion lewis hamilton is aiming for what would be a record 8th career title, in what could be his final season with the team. last month he extended his contract till the end of this campaign — but said he hadn't ruled out staying longer if success continues. firstly, i'm kind of any fortunate position where i have achieved most of the stuff that i have wanted to achieve up until this point. so there is no real need, necessarily, to plan too far ahead in the future. i think we live in quite an unusual period of time in life, and ijust wanted one year, then we can talk about if we do more and keep adding if we have to. england's cricketers will be looking to level their series against india when the fourth test gets under way in ahmedabad on thursday. they were beaten inside two days in the previous match, but opening batsman zak crawley says there's no reason why england can't end the series on a high. there is definitely a way back. you know, we have already won, one game down, the first test match, it is going to require us to get a good first inning, and if we can replicate 145 and get a nice late in the first innings that will put them under pressure, i think. england opener tammy beaumont has gone to the top of cricket's one—day batting rankings for the first time. she made a half—century in all three matches, in the series win over new zealand, scoring a total of 231 runs. she moves up five places on the list, overtaking australia captain meg lanning at the top. england next play a t20 series in wellington, starting tomorrow. that's all the sport for now. the scottish government has admitted its lawyers had reservations about its position in a civil court case brought by alex salmond. mr salmond successfully sued the government over its investigation into him which cost the taxpayer at least half a million pounds. he claims they should have dropped it months earlier. meanwhile the top law officer in scotland has defended the crown office — after it expressed concerns about the publication of parts of mr salmond's evidence to msps. nick eardley reports. this is a politicalfallout on the grandest scale. nicola sturgeon's government is facing big questions. herformer mentor, alex salmond, says he's convinced she broke the rules ministers have to follow several times. i have no doubt that nicola has broken the ministerial code, but it's not for me to suggest what the consequences should be. this is alex salmond in 2019. he'd just taken the scottish government to court. judges found the policy used to investigate him had been unlawful, but mr salmond has claimed that ministers knew for weeks that they were likely to lose the case. waiting could have cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds. for months, parliament has been trying to force the government to publish its legal advice. until now, it has refused. but faced with a vote of no confidence, scotland's deputy first minister has been forced to change his mind. mr swinney admitted reservations were raised by lawyers in october, that's two months before they admitted defeat. he goes onto argue that there were reasonable grounds to continue with the case. this is very clear in the legal advice that it was not going to be a successful case that had been launched, and the government should have acknowledged that. this crisis has seen criticism of the leadership of a number of scotland's institutions, from the government, to the civil service. last week, there were even claims of a cover—up after the crown office, which is the prosecution body in scotland, said some of alex salmond's evidence had to be taken down from the parliamentary website because it could be in contempt of court. today, the scottish government's top lawyer hit back. any suggestion from any quarter that the crown's decision making has at any time been influenced by irrelevant considerations or improper motivations would be wholly without foundation. it will be nicola sturgeon's turn to appear before the committee tomorrow. she's denied breaking the ministerial code and said claims of a conspiracy against alex salmond just aren't true. nick eardley, bbc news. the public inquiry into the manchester arena attack has heard that firefighters who were prevented from going to the scene of the bombing were so upset, they later turned their backs on a senior officer. the revelation came during evidence from alan topping, who was a firefighter on duty that night. now retired, in 2017 he was a group manager for the greater manchester fire and rescue service. on the night of the bombing he was sent to a fire station a mile away from the arena. mr topping said that it had been the lowest point of his career, and it had taken him "a couple of days to put the uniform back on". he said "i felt ashamed to be a firefighter. i felt we'd let the people of greater manchester down. we were there to help, and we didn't do ourjob." bbc three is to return as a broadcast tv channel in january next year. the channel behind shows including normal people, killing eve and fleabag— moved online in 2016 and is expected to start rebroadcasting in 2022, subject to ofcom approval. the bbc says it is part of a drive to deliver �*more value to audiences�*. our media editor explains why this decision has been taken now — after the channel was originally moved to online—only in 2016. since then a few different things happen. one is young people have definitely towards digital platform, acceleration away from linear has accelerated, but bbc but bbc three has had a number of absolutely enormous hits. you mentioned a couple there, fleabag, normal people, killing eve, amongst others, but the bbc has come under huge pressure to prove it is relevant to young people. they�*ve done a bit of market research, but there�*s still a hard core of young people who will watch bbc three on linear tv, and the calculation they have made with the circumstances of 2021 is that despite the need to save money, it is worth putting these massive hits back on a linear channel, because it is a few more young people, and when the bbc comes that this very difficult negotiation with the government and the government says, are you relevant to young people? they have this linear station on offerfor young people which is getting an audience and that will be handy. with the pandemic hitting different parts of england in different ways, there is concern it could exacerbate regional inequalities. the government says it�*s committed to handing more power from westminster to local communities as the country starts to recover, part of its plan to "�*level—up�*. so could more elected mayors be the answer? our political correspondent alex forsyth reports. even in lockdown, manchester�*s not lost its vibe. but the shoppers can�*t browse when the shutters are down. the city�*s grown used to restrictions. they stayed in place here last year, even when elsewhere things seemed more upbeat. that prompted anger from greater manchester�*s mayor. remember this? this is no way to run the country in a national crisis. he said, despite significant government support, parts of the north were getting an unfair deal. at this restaurant, the owner has a similar view. she�*s kept ticking over with takeaways, but feels hospitality in manchester was hard—hit. we�*re going down a tier now all of a sudden, london was saying, "right, we�*re going down a tier now so we can open our bars, restaurants and shops and it can "sort of go back to normal." you think, "well, it�*s almost like two "different rules for one country." manchester wasn�*t the only place to push back against government policy, despite ministers saying it was fair. this was the conservative mayor when the west midlands faced extra restrictions. it is, in my view, not the right decision, both for the health and indeed the livelihoods of citizens across the west midlands. the pandemic raised the profile of these elected mayors, who are meant to boost their areas with budgets and powers independent of westminster. but across england, not everywhere�*s got one. powers have been handed down to local areas at a different pace. in hull, two local councils have teamed up. they want a mayor, which they say would attract investment and mean more local decision—making, though not everyone�*s convinced. i think there�*s plenty of scope for local choice now. when it goes bad, they blame westminster. when it goes good, they take the praise for it. i don�*t think you need another layer of decisions. look what boris did for london, you see? he was mayor, wasn't he? he was. so, yeah, i think maybe a mayor would be a good idea. back in manchester, businesses can�*t wait to open their doors. normally this would be full of pianos and full of people, all trying them out. unfortunately that can�*t be happening at the moment. at dawsons music, the owner�*s confident of bouncing back if, he says, local and national politicians work together. and there is that adage that those who shout loudest, kind of, get. there needs to be a balance. yes, we fight for what we need, but not at the expense of not having a voice at national level. the government says it is committed to giving communities more resources and control away from westminster, making the recovery fair across the country. how that happens could be crucial as towns and cities start moving again. alex forsyth, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week, as a resuly lockdown and the success of the vaccine programme. the search narrows for the missing case of the brazil variant — the person infected lives in one of 379 households in the south east of england — according to matt hancock. tomorrow in the budget we�*ll hear that furlough will be extended, and a £400 million boost for the culture sector. in less than a week�*s time, schools in england will have fully reopened — but with secondary pupils needing a negative covid test before heading back into the classroom — people are asking how will this work? fiona lamdin reports. school biology labs transformed into testing centres. up and down, on your tonsils, a good four strokes of each tonsil. all secondary school pupils will need a negative test before they are allowed back into the classroom next week. fantastic. 0k? these key worker children have been in school since january. they are now used to the tests. i felt a bit nervous at first, but then, as soon as the test was finished, i felt much more relieved. it feels like i have got a protection bubble around us and my classmates. that everyone has got a test. we all know that we are safe. other schools have turned their drama and dance hall into a testing site. that�*s it and then in that test—tube there for me, please. by the end of the week, they will be testing over 1000 students in two days. so they come into the hall, they pick up their registration card and then they queue before being tested in one of these eight booths. first time, it is kind of scary, but, once you do it again, then you�*ll get used to it and it�*s much normal and easier. it feels normal. the first two times, yeah, it felt tickly. normally, these staff work in the admin team, sorting out admissions and exams. now they are running the whole operation. i think it is fair to say, in education, in the last 12 months, we have been used to turning our hand to many things, but, yes, setting up an nhs test site has probably been the biggest one. we have taken a pragmatic approach. we have started testing a bit earlier. we tested thursday, friday this week and we are testing again on monday, tuesday. that means that all children will be back into their normal timetable from wednesday morning. teachers are also being tested. many welcome the extra measures. ifeel a lot more reassured knowing there is testing going on. especially with the idea that students are possibly asymptomatic. i think it is just an added layer to provide a little bit more reassurance. but it won�*t be long before students will be doing this at home. and you are trying to avoid touching your teeth, your tongue, or the roof of your mouth. the reason why we are doing three tests in school is because we want them to be competent and confident with their technique, so that then when they are at home, they know exactly what they are doing. instead of students, boxes with thousands of covid tests are now filling classrooms, as schools prepare for their next logistical challenge. fiona lamdin, bbc news. the education secretary gavin williamson has been visiting a secondary school in brixton in south london this afternoon, to see their plans to implement testing for covid—19. as we heard — all secondary school and college students will have to take three tests in school, before being provided with two rapid tests to use each week at home. staff and students are also being advised to wear face coverings in areas where social distancing cannot be maintained, including classrooms , but mr williamson said it wouldn�*t well, we are very clear in our guidance. the guidance says we strongly advise teachers and students should wear those facemasks. we would certainly encourage all people to do so. but we are not in a position where we are going to be making it mandatory, because it is obviously key to make sure that children are in the classroom and benefiting from an education. twitter plans to ban users who repeatedly tweet harmful misinformation about covid—19 vaccines — and to label misleading tweets. a recent investigation for bbc panorama exposed the harm already caused by anti—vaccine content on social media sites like twitter. the bbc�*s specialist disinformation reporter marianna spring joins me now. you did that panorama investigation a couple of weeks ago, this seems to be a response by twitter to that. one thing we have seen is a boom in the followings of accounts promoting anti—vaccine content on twitter, also on instagram and facebook. there�*s been increasing pressure on social media sites to commit to doing even more to tackle harmful disinformation. since the pandemic began, about a ago now, we have seen conspiracy influencers grow huge followings on them by promoting false claims, including about the vaccine. i�*ve personally seen the harm that this cause. i�*ve interviewed people up and down the uk who have been impacted by disinformation about the vaccine. has disinformation about the vaccine. as it is its in organised disinformation campaign or is it more chaotic and anarchic in that? there is a committed group of activists, and there are any minority, who are deliberately trying to dissuade people from having the vaccine, and use tactics that enable them to do that. often brandishing medical credentials or scientific backers, which is why scaly people, they think is this person real? is what they are saying true? —— scary for people. one something a shared online, it very quickly picks up and goes everywhere. we sometimes find that false stories are used to feel these and the same committed actors pick them up, but once they are in the hands of everyone else who are frightened and have questions, to get totally out of control.- get totally out of control. water twitter doing — get totally out of control. water twitter doing about _ get totally out of control. water twitter doing about this? - get totally out of control. water| twitter doing about this? twitter sa ino twitter doing about this? twitter saying they _ twitter doing about this? twitter saying they will _ twitter doing about this? twitter saying they will ban _ twitter doing about this? twitter saying they will ban users - twitter doing about this? twitter saying they will ban users who i saying they will ban users who repeatedly share misleading information about the jab. other platforms like facebook have made commitments to ban repeat offenders when it comes to disinformation. the mayor up as many are asking has this come too late? can you close pandora�*s box, effectively? buy back some would say that when you look at the success of the vaccine roll—out scheme, it has been successful, they take—up has been huge, huge amount of people won the vaccine, so it looks like those spreading that misinformation may maybe not being that successful. the majority of people do want the vaccine and the uptake shows is that. the concern is that going forward, particularly when it comes to younger people, they populate these platforms, so they populate these platforms, so they are more exposed to this misinformation. that could be a problem at up to going forwards. this activity is very clever tactics to target the legitimate concerns of groups, including those in black and asian communities who are showing higher levels of hesitancy, and i think that is the real concern going forward, even when uptake is really good. the bbc has been given unique access to a new facility in cambridge, in the uk, where they can test drugs on the coronavirus and try to understand how the virus works. it�*s called a cl3 level area, meaning containment level three, it�*s the biggest of its kind in the country and they have all kinds of interesting ways to keep it safe. our science correspondent richard westcott went to see. you need very special labs to work with viruses. with impenetrable glass, the air pressure always kept lower inside and outside so nothing can escape. we couldn�*t go right inside so the scientists offered to do some filming for us. by growing the virus and deliberately infecting human cells, they are trying to answer key questions like how does it attack us and what drugs stop it growing? there�*s an air lock here between me and sara but hopefully we can talk over the intercom. hi, sara. can you hear me? yes, i can hear you. what�*s it like working in a lab like that all day and all the ppe and working with sars covid? it can be quite intimidating at the beginning. but i have to say after being trained properly it�*s really safe to actually be working here. and do you sometimes sort of look at the petri dish and say, wow, that is the virus that�*s brought the world to a halt? i mean, does it make you kind of gasp sometimes? it actually does. it feels like we have a huge responsibility and everything we are doing is extremely important for global health. their work is producing stunning images. this is what it has all been about. that tiny blob is a close—up of the sars cov2 virus. you could fit around 10 million of these onto a full stop in a newspaper. this is what it does. it is a mass of infected cells. the red is the virus. and here, the blue, healthy cells are taken over by the virus in green. this is after eight hours. this, after a day. and now look at it after two days. well, we can answer questions here that you can�*t answer any other way. we can grow coronavirus in this facility and test new drugs and see if we can stop coronavirus. there�*s not really any other option. it would be too dangerous, unethical, to give drugs directly to patients without this kind of testing so i think having this facility really speeds up the way in which we can make new drugs and find ways to stop coronavirus. in future, these labs will contain things like hiv and salmonella. for now, though, this tiny enemy is the priority. richard wescott, bbc news, cambridge. a congregation in herefordshire have been shocked to discover a fairly ordinary—looking painting of the last supper in their church is actually a long—lost masterpiece. sian lloyd has been to see it. an imposing painting of the last supper. it has hung in this parish church since the beginning of the last century. gifted by a localfamily, who brought it back from a visit to italy. never had it been supposed that the 12.5 foot artwork would be an original. but it had not always looked like this. two years ago, extensive renovation work was commissioned, and more of the picture was revealed. it had, over the centuries, got very dark. it was brown and sludgy, and didn�*t look at all inspiring. and then it was restored and we see what we have now. and it is a joy and a delight. the restoration was carried out by art historian ronald moore, in his studio on the welsh english border. he was inspired to delve further. 11,000 hours of research, in fact, in which he uncovered its history. examination under ultraviolet light revealed the inscribed name of titian, one of the 16th century�*s greatest masters, and he�*s convinced the artwork was created by painters from the titian workshop, a common practice of the time. there is sufficient evidence, not just with the signature, but many, many facets, all come together to show that this is indeed a titian workshop picture. we've got a lot of evidence to indicate that. it's extremely important in that there is no titian workshop picture on this scale which has been undiscovered for such a long period of time. he believes that the apostle wearing the golden robe is titian as a young man. the most likely painter of this figure, he believes, was titian�*s son. the value of the artwork can only be guessed at. a titian workshop painting last sold for more than £7 million. but at the parish church where it hangs in ledbury, its worth is not measured by its monetary value, but by the joy it brings to the congregation. they say it will be displayed here for years to come. sian lloyd, bbc news, ledbury. much more coming up at the top of the error but now we are going to pause and look at the weather. hello, there. contrasting conditions once again across the country. it was a cold night into the far north—west, with a frost, but that has brought some beautiful sunshine. just take a look at keswick in cumbria this morning, not a cloud in the sky. a different story further east, once again close to the north sea — we are likely to keep the low cloud, the misty murkiness, which will have quite an impact on the temperature. and the satellite picture is really illustrating that point quite nicely. the western fringes of scotland, north—west england, wales, down into the south—west so far has seen the best of the sun. as we go through the day we are confident that some of that cloud will start to burn back to north sea coasts, but it may linger once again across parts of eastern england down into lincolnshire and those temperatures are likely to struggle, as well. so at the very best, we could just see around 5 or 6 degrees here, top temperatures through the afternoon peaking at 13 celsius. now, as we move into the evening, we are likely to see more fog returning in off the north sea. by contrast, a bit more of a breeze will pick up and a weak weather front will bring some showers into the far south—west of cornwall and devon as we go through the end of the night. here temperature staying at around 7 degrees, elsewhere with the cloud around we will perhaps keep those temperatures above freezing. so, this little front is going to enhance some showers down to the south—west, spreading their way slowly northwards as we go through the day on wednesday. some of those showers could be quite heavy, maybe the odd rumble of thunder feed their way steadily out towards the midlands and maybe perhaps along that m4 corridor, as well. to the north and east, we keep some cloud. it stays disappointing where the cloud is at around 4 or 5 degrees, top temperatures once again in the south—east if we get some sunshine at 14. but the weather story is set to change, the colder air will return as a new area of high pressure drifts in from the north and we start to see the wind direction swinging round to more of a north—easterly. that is going to drive in a cooler air mass across the country eventually, so by thursday a different feel for all of us. there will be a fair amount of cloud around as well by comparison. top temperatures likely to be 5—8 degrees. we mightjust scrape double figures into the far south—west, but this cooler, quieter story is set to stay with us right into the weekend. no significant rain, but a disappointing feel. this is bbc news. i�*m ben brown. the headlines... deaths from covid in the uk are down by a quarter in one week to the lowest level since the start of the year. what all this shows is that the vaccine is working, reducing the number of deaths among those who were vaccinated first and preventing hospital admissions. this is real—world evidence. we�*ll have all the latest on coronavirus, as the search for the person linked to the brazilian variant is narrowed to a few hundred houses in south east england. a bump to england�*s struggling culture sector — the chancellor�*s to announce more than 400 million pounds to help museums, theatres and galleries. france changes its policy on the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine. will other european countries follow suit? holiday firm pontins makes charges after a whistle—blower reveals